This is Our Town
by Akikazemoon
Summary: Sequel to The New Kids in Town! "This place is ours. We're going to protect it...or we're going to die trying." Action and romance this time around! Hunter x OC, Smoker x OC, and Witch x OC, among other pairings. Not accepting any more OCs!
1. Arrivals

Hey, guys! :D Long time no see! :D Lol no that long. XD Well, anyway, I bet that you're all excited for the sequel! X3 And as for those of you who are first timers reading my stories, go read The New Kids In Town first, cause this is its sequel! :3 Now, remember guys, this one is going to have more of a serious tone to it! :o But don't worry, comedy lovers! I've got a new story that's going to be up soon for all of the funny chapters that didn't quite make it into the main story! But as for this one, you can expect more of the romance aspect, more of the darker kind of themes, and…fight scenes! Yes, you got it, fight scenes! Lol I love writing fight scenes. XD But no fight scenes in the first chapter. :P Also, we're welcoming a few new OCs into our cast! Two who belong to TwilightSymphony, one new one from Scorpion123456, and one that I made myself! ^^ As of now, there are still a few open spaces for OCs, but the info on that will be in the author comments after the chapter. :3 Anyway, let's get going, guys! It's sequel time!

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter and Noir, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nikiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole and Gina.

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"Are you sure that you need to go?" Taunter asked as the group stood at the entrance to the city, ready to bid farewell to Claire.

"Yeah, I should probably get going," Claire smiled at them. "Markus has been waiting too long for me to get back to the other town. I don't want to keep him waiting."

"Well, we'll see you around then," Valery said, waving. "Make sure to come visit, okay?"

"Yeah, and when you visit, Markus can come, too!" Calli added.

"Thanks, guys," Claire grinned. "We'll I'll see ya!" She waved as she left, and everyone in the remaining group waved back to her.

"Well, looks like we're one person down, then," Boomer frowned.

"It's okay, she said that she'd come visit," Taunter smiled. "So, what do you guys wanna do now?"

"I say that we go to the pool again!" Calli said almost immediately. "We haven't been there in a while!" Everyone else thought that that was a good idea, and so, they all headed off towards the pool.

"We'll see if Hunter can actually manage to get onto one of those floaties this time," Smoker chuckled, lighting a cigarette.

"It's not _my_ fault that those things hate me," Hunter grumbled in response.

"Hey…does anyone smell smoke?" Sam asked out of the blue.

"You might just be standing too close to Smoker," Mike replied. The others paused for a moment, wondering if it really _was_ just Smoker.

"No, I smell it, too," Valery said. "And I'm standing the furthest away from him."

"Can anyone tell where it's coming from?" Boomer asked, curious as to where the smoke had originated.

"Look up there," came a small voice, and they saw Jeffry pointing up to the sky. There was a thin trail of smoke drifting across the light blue ceiling above them. They followed the smoke's trail with their eyes, trying to see where on the ground it stopped.

"Hey…wait a second…" Calli said, realization dawning over her face. "That's the rec center! Someone's burning down our pool! Come on, maybe we can still put out the fire!" Calli dashed ahead of everyone else, and the rest of them had to jog in order to keep up with her as she ran down the road. It didn't take them long to get there. And the rec center was indeed up in flames. The fire was huge, and there was no way that anyone was going to put it out now.

"No!" Calli shouted. "Aw, come on! Why the pool? WHY?"

"Well, there was a pool near that amusement park, remember?" Smoker walked over to her. "In that hotel lot."

"Yeah, but that pool was full of dead people!" Calli pouted. "I liked this pool! Who would burn it down?"

"Well, whoever it was, it doesn't matter. No more pool time for us," Boomer frowned, looking disappointed. Everyone was quiet for a moment, and during that silence, they suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice from behind them, from up on one of the building roofs.

"Do you seriously think that I care if there are other Infected down there, Noir?" it said. "Just watch the fire! Have some fun for once." The group on the ground turned, looking up at the roof that the shout had come from. There were three figures up there, and none of them looked familiar at all. But because they were talking in complete sentences _and_ making sense, that proved that they weren't Commons.

"Hey!" Calli shouted up to them. "Are you the ones who started this fire?" One of the figures on the roof, a boy with fiery red hair, came over to the ledge to talk with the group below.

"Yeah, I started it," he replied. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"No, it's not cool at all!"

"No…?" the boy honestly looked like he didn't get Calli's logic at all.

"Hey, who are you guys anyway?" Smoker called up to him. "We've never seen you around here before."

"The name's Cole," the boy called down. "The quiet ones back there are Gina," he indicated the girl behind him, "and Noir," he pointed towards the boy sitting on the other side of the roof. "Though ya might not be able to see 'em while you're standing down there."

"Why did you burn down the rec center?" Smoker questioned him.

"I just felt like it, I guess," Cole shrugged. "It looked pretty burnable to me."

"You can't just burn down stuff because they seem burnable!" Taunter called up to him, annoyed. "I mean, we really liked that place!"

"Well, I guess that I just-" Cole paused upon glancing down and getting a look at Taunter. "Whoa. Hey there, beautiful. How come you're hanging around with those guys? Why don't you come up here?"

"Ew, no!" she shook her head. "Go away!"

"You're not really good at that flirting stuff, are you?" came a quiet question from up on the roof.

"Shut up, Noir," Cole turned around for a moment, then turned back to the group below. "I mean, I can try, can't I?"

"No. You can't," Hunter called up to him bluntly. "I wouldn't have a problem with knocking you out if you said something like that again."

"What? Are you her boyfriend or something?"

"N-No!"

"Well then, I see no problem with it."

"Well, I've got a problem with you!"

"Geez, possessive much?" Cole laughed.

"He's just trying to keep me away from creeps like you!" Taunter shouted up to Cole.

"Yeah! Exactly!" Hunter agreed.

"So…you guys aren't _staying _here…right?" Smoker asked, interrupting the argument.

"We heard that there were survivors here," Cole replied.

"You're too late for that," Sam told him. "The survivors are long gone."

"Well, whatever," Cole shrugged. "This seems like a good town anyway. Lots of stuff to burn, you know?"

"No, no, no, you are _not_ staying here!" Calli refused.

"Free country, you know?" Cole smirked, rolling his eyes. "Maybe some of that paint that got all over you went to your brain or something, but you should know that we can stay wherever we want. And we're just the first three to get here."

"First three?" Mike asked, seeming as unenthused as the others on the ground. "Does that mean that there's more of you?"

"Yeah," Cole said as if it had been obvious the entire time. "Anyways, you guys should probably head on out of town."

"Why?" Boomer asked.

"Because we're here. This is our territory, now," Cole replied, once again seeming like he thought that the answer should have been obvious. "So…yeah. Go away."

"You can't just kick us out!" Taunter shouted at him, even more irritated now. "We've been here longer!"

"Well, fine, _you_ can stay," he replied to her. "But everyone else has to go."

"Are you serious?"

"Guys, this isn't going to get any better. Let's just go," Smoker said quietly to his group. "We'll just stay away from these guys, and there won't be a problem."

"But that guy's a total jerk!" Calli said. "I mean, come on, we have to get rid of him now!"

"For once, I actually agree with you," Hunter said, in accordance with Calli's opinion. "I don't want those guys here."

"Seriously guys, those Infected up there aren't Commons," Smoker continued to try to convince them to leave. "We don't know what they're able to do yet, so we should just leave and try to avoid them. We can't start a fight. Even though we outnumber them, we could be seriously outmatched."

"Yeah, and maybe if we just ignore them, they'll go away," Boomer added. "We'll just stay in the alley for a while, and maybe when we come out, they'll be gone."

"Fine," Calli finally said. After a bit more of discussion, everyone decided that going back to the alley would be the best thing to do. Cole didn't say anything as he watched them leave, unable to think of any sort of snarky comment. He stood on the roof, just watching as they turned the corner.

"Geez. I…really don't like those guys," Cole shook his head. "Except for that one girl. She was-"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it," Noir cut him off, sitting on the other side of the roof and brushing some silvery blonde hair out of his face. "We're both aware of your little crush, Cole."

"Well, you're as apathetic as ever," Cole rolled his eyes.

"You don't even know what apathetic means, do you?"

"I know what it means! Right, Gina?" Cole turned to the girl who was also on the roof. The girl, Gina, shrugged, seeming to not really know whether he was right or not.

"Either way," Cole picked up talking again. "I seriously don't want those guys around. They even had a Sniffer with them. Ugh. I hate Sniffers. We're going to have some major extermination work to do if they won't leave."

"What if they try to fight back?" Noir asked, still not turning around from where he sat on the edge of the roof. "I doubt that you can make _all_ of them burst into flame."

"Just you wait and see. They've got no idea what's coming to them," Cole turned a bit, taking a look out at the city. "Heh. This town…this is _our_ town, now."

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Lol semi-dramatic ending XD Anyhoo, I have an announcement! We need some OCs for the bad guys! We can still take one or two more for the good guys, but we really need bad guys, since right now it's fourteen vs. three lol XD So, anyway, I'm accepting OCs! Now, for people who already have an OC in the story, you can have up to TWO OCs, okay? So, if we don't get any from anyone else, I'll be asking you guys for help lol XD Now, for the newbies, here are the OC rules. Your OC, first of all, has to be a Special Infected. Common Infected are boring. :P Also, please please please try to think of your own original type of Infected! If you're thinking forever and STILL can't think of anything, I guess that taking an already existing one would be okay, but please try your hardest to think up your own, first! Also, you'll have to choose which team they're with. Thirdly, they may have a pairing, just tell me who they might like if you would like them to have a pairing. But most of the characters in the story area already taken lol XD Anyway, here's the OC chart!

Appearance:

Age (as in, how old they look):

Personality (I need a really detailed description here! Please include fears, tendencies, everything!):

Special Abilities/Traits (include not only what they can do, but also how they attack the survivors):

Past (as in, an explanation from their past as to why they became the kind of Infected that they did):

Likes:

Dislikes:

Crush (only if you want one):

Any other extra info about them:

If you need an example, here's one for my character, filled out already.

Name: Taunter

Appearance: Short-ish brown hair, bangs partially covering glowing gray eyes. Pale skin, bloodstains, all that other zombie stuff. Wears the slightly ripped up and worn out remains of denim jeans, a blue t-shirt, and a gray hoodie jacket that zips up the front.

Age: 17

Personality: Fairly friendly, and really gets along with people she knows well. She doesn't trust strangers very much, but warms up to people quickly. Uses sarcasm. A LOT. Can be a bit dense sometimes. Laughing, laughing, LOTS and lots of laughing. She's scared of heights and flaming Infected puke. Or pretty much anything that's on fire. Has a pretty upbeat attitude most of the time, but can be serious when she needs to be. Though she'll probably just end up laughing again…

Special Abilities/Traits: She has a defense mechanism that forces her to laugh whenever she feels like she's in danger. Once she feels more comfortable and safe, the laughing will calm down. She's a fast runner, but will usually walk everywhere because she's lazy. :P She's a fast runner, but isn't able to jump as well as the Hunter, usually resulting in her crashing into walls when Hunter wants her to jump up somewhere. She has a fairly good sense of smell, but once again, not nearly as good as Hunter. She at the moment doesn't have much experience fighting the survivors, but is able to call the horde over by laughing really loud. ._.

Past: Taunter, before she was infected, was the kind of person who would always laugh at people whenever anything bad happened to them. Thus, she is cursed with having to laugh whenever she's in danger. ._.

Likes: Her friends, creeping out survivors with crazy laughing, calling the horde on survivors, playing pranks on people, trying out new things, NOT going up into high places, and trying to find new ways to have fun, among other things.

Dislikes: Fire, heights, the survivors shooting at her (well, duh), extreme boredom, the Common Infected, being near Boomer when he pukes, and a few other things as well.

Crush: Hunter :D (cause he's full of awesome sauce)

Extra Info: Even though she doesn't try to, she gets herself into trouble a lot. She also has trouble sneaking around when there are survivors nearby because she'll always end up laughing anyway.

Okey dokey, send in your OCs! :D Also, if you're planning on sending in a new OC, please look at the questions at the end of each chapter in the first story and answer those, too! ^^


	2. Gathering Forces

Alright! Chapter two! Whoohoo! Lol. Oh, and guys, I know that I was PM-ing some of you, then suddenly stopped answering, and it's because I reached my message limit for today. XD Fanfiction doesn't let you send more than one hundred PMs… XD Oh, well. :P Oh, and also. I wasn't able to fall asleep last night and might have been half asleep when I wrote this, so I hope that it makes as much sense as I think it does. XD Lastly, I've had some of the OCs debut in this chapter! I've accepted all of the OCs that I've gotten, and if your OC doesn't show up in this chapter, they will make their first appearance in either chapter three or chapter four. :3 Anyway, without further ado, let's get going!

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter and Noir, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nikiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole and Gina. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo.

Lol this disclaimer just keeps getting longer and longer XD Lol someday it'll take up a whole page. XD Anyway, let's get going!

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It was mid morning, and the residents of the alley hadn't been troubled by the newcomers to the town all day. Still, they occasionally saw columns of smoke rising lazily up into the sky. Boomer had just got back from the food store, carrying some of the food from the meat section. Smoker had said that they should probably get all the food from the store, just in case Cole decided to burn it while all the food was still inside, but they hadn't gotten around to going through with this yet. So for now, they all sat and ate in a tense silence. What was going to happen now? Cole really didn't seem to care that they had been first, that they thought of this town as their home. He really didn't seem to care about much at all, in fact. It was about a minute later when they heard footsteps coming down one of the side alleys. And whoever it was, their gait didn't sound like Tank or Witch. Everyone exchanged an uneasy look, then Smoker stood up and looked down into the side alley.

"Who's there?" he called inside, towards whoever was making the footsteps. "You're not with Cole, are you?" A moment later, a teenage girl, another special infected of some sort, emerged from the alley, looking slightly confused as she pushed some of her black hair out of her face.

"Well, I don't really know who Cole is," she replied to Smoker's question. "But who are you?"

"Smoker," he replied, though still keeping a wary eye on the girl as she approached. "Why are you here?"

"Well, we were just looking around…" the girl peered over Smoker's shoulder, into the alley. As she surveyed the crowd inside, her eyes rested upon Clawer, who was staring at her in surprise, some meat half stuffed into his mouth. She grinned, then squealed, pushing her way past a surprised Smoker and latching onto Clawer with what appeared to be a hug of some sort. Whatever it was, it caught him off guard so much that he nearly choked.

"Clawer, it's been so long since I've seen you!" the girl kept up her bear hugging, and Clawer did his best to swallow his food without choking again.

"Healer, what are you doing here?" he asked, pushing her away just a bit.

"Aren't you happy so see me?"

"Well, yeah. But when did you even get into this town?"

"We just got here a day or two ago," Healer replied with a smile.

"We?" Clawer asked her. "You're with somebody?"

"Angel and Alan," she replied. "Those two guys are with me, but they're a bit farther behind. Hang on, I'll go get them!" Healer jumped to her feet happily going right past Smoker once again, and back into the alley that she had come from.

"What was that?" Calli asked after Healer had been gone for a moment.

"Her name is Healer," Clawer explained. "I've known her for a pretty long time, ever since we both first got infected. But we got separated at some point. And basically, I never expected to meet her here."

"Sounds like she has buddies with her," Hunter commented. "Are you sure that we can trust her?"

"Yeah. I mean, of all people, Healer is someone you can trust."

"Alright, as long as it's safe to let her and her friends come here," Smoker said, coming back into the alleyway. And as if right on cue, Healer came back through the side alley, bringing behind her the two companions that she had mentioned.

"Okay, I should introduce everyone," Healer said once she and the other two guys had arrived in the alley. "My name is Healer. And over here," she indicated to one of the Infected that had come with her, a Tank with sandy blonde hair and a tattoo of Archangel Michael on his left shoulder, "this is Angel. And this other guy here," she motioned to the red haired and blue eyed Infected who was donned with Riot Police armor, "is Alan." Both Angel and Alan seemed relatively quiet, and each exchanged their own quiet hellos. "We've been traveling together for a while now. But wow, I never thought that I would see you again, Clawer! Hey, you know, how about our two groups team up?"

"As long as you're not planning anything bad, it's fine," Smoker shrugged.

"Bad? No way," Healer shook her head. "We're all good guys here, right?"

"Yeah, we are," Clawer nodded. "Now, since you're here, we might as well introduce you to everyone. Let's all just sit down for a while…"

…...

"Ugh, they're late," Cole grumbled, pacing back and forth along the ground inside of a burnt out shell that used to be a building. After Cole had burnt down the walls, all that remained of it was a floor and some signed walls stubs that went only a yard or two off the ground, along with the few rafters that had somehow survived the fire. It was now serving as their base, though it didn't seem very homey quite yet.

"Well, considering that they don't know where we are, I'm not surprised," Noir said, and Cole stopped his pacing to look at the other Infected for a moment.

"Well, we'll know when they're coming, anyway," Cole sighed. "You can hear Jojo from a mile away, after all."

"Don't remind me."

"I mean, I don't even know where that guy-"

"Hey," Gina cut into the conversation, not bothering to move from where she sat. "It looks like some of them are coming."

"They're coming?" Cole walked over to the wall where Gina was sitting, looking over it and down the street. "But I don't hear any psycho laughing. That means that the whole group isn't together. Unless they just ditched Jojo." But, just as Gina had said, there were some figures down the street. Only three, though. The group must be coming in separate parts.

"Hey, over here!" Cole waved to the group down the street, trying to flag them down. "We're over here!" The group saw him, and started on their way towards the burnt out building. The first to arrive was Hammer, as tall and muscle-y looking as ever, still sporting the gray hoodie that hid part of his scruffy light brown hair from view. The second to come in was Ivy, looking to be Hammer's polar opposite: she was far more petite, and had styled black hair that went down to about her chin, her eyes glowing yellow like a pair of lightning bugs in the night. And the third and final to walk in was Eric, looking the most normal as he walked in, messing slightly with his short brown hair, and also looking like he was the one that least wanted to be there. When had he gotten involved with these guys, anyway…? It had been a total mistake in the first place…

"Where's everyone else?" Ivy asked, interrupting Eric's thoughts and looking around.

"Not here yet," Cole replied. "What took you so long to get here?"

"I was a bit weighted down," Ivy sighed, glancing less than discreetly over at Hammer and Eric, the latter of which seemed to pay her no mind while Hammer grumbled something under his breath.

"So, you guys don't know where anyone else is, huh?" Cole asked, seeming a bit frustrated. "Well, geez. I would have thought that you guys could organize better than this."

"Hey, it's not our fault that you took off without us!" Hammer snapped.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there," Cole couldn't help but smile at the other Infected's sudden angry burst and how silly it seemed at the time. At least, to him it did. He wasn't sure about everyone else, though. "At least I left you a note and stuff, right? I wanted to scout ahead. Anyway, we have some problems that we need to talk about."

"What kind of problems?" Ivy asked, somewhat curious.

"There are other Special Infected already living here, and they're really bugging me," Cole replied.

"And so, after he was done getting totally rejected after trying to flirt with one, he decided that we should just take them out instead, like we always do," Noir cut in.

"I didn't get rejected, she was just playing hard to get!" Cole said in his own defense. "Deep, deep down, she actually really likes me."

"Well. That must be very, _very_ deep down, then."

"Cole, how many times do I have to tell you that you can't flirt to save your life?" Ivy asked him.

"Okay, whatever!" Cole said quickly, wanting to change the subject. "Like I said, we've gotta come up with a plan to take out those other Infected." None of them really seemed to mention that a few of their team members would be absent from the meeting. They had a certain unwritten code, one part of which went: You miss the meeting, you miss out.

"Alright, listen up," Cole started the discussion. "I took a look at these other guys, and they don't look all that strong. They seem pretty general. They had three Hunters, two Smokers, a Sniffer, and a few others that I'm not sure about, but they definitely didn't look very much like combat types to me. This is going to be easy. Burn some stuff, kick some ass, yadda yadda yadda. We'll force them to go away."

"And…what if they don't want to leave?" Eric said his first words of the meeting.

"We kill 'em," Cole said, laughing again, this time in a more disbelieving way at the fact that Eric would even ask a question like that. "Duh." Eric seemed less than excited at the answer, but decided not to say anything.

"Which formation are we going to go with?" Gina asked Cole, brushing a stray curly hair out of her face.

"Hm…" Cole paused. "I'm thinking Formation C. For our first attack, at least. And let's try to make it our last. I want to get this done quickly."

"Formation C just solves _all_ your problems, doesn't it?" Noir asked, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, pretty much," Cole nodded.

"Uhh…what's Formation C again?" Eric asked. He had been with the team for the shortest amount of time, and still hadn't learned their special terms yet.

"Oh, that's an easy one," Cole said, turning to look at him. "Burn it to the ground and take no prisoners."

…...

"Wow…that sounds bad," Healer whispered after hearing the alleyway dwellers' predicament. Neither Angel nor Alan had said a word yet, but it was apparent that they were listening to the conversation.

"But we're thinking that it's going to be sorta like when you run into a beehive," Smoker explained. "If you leave it alone, the bees won't sting you, right? So, we've decided to just try to avoid them for now."

"Sounds like a good plan," Healer agreed with him.

"Hey, Healer, where were you guys going to go after this?" Taunter questioned suddenly. "Do you want to stay here in the alley with us?" Several of the other Infected who were used to alley life were prepared to hear Hunter's objection of it getting too crowded, but it seemed that even _he_ had accepted the fact that more and more would just keep coming at this point.

"Sure, I think it'd be fun," Healer nodded with a smile. She turned to look first at Alan. "What do you think, Alan?" Alan paused for a moment, but then spoke.

"Yes, it sounds like a good idea," he said quietly. This Alan seemed like a serious sort of guy. Healer turned to Angel next.

"What about you, Angel?" she asked. "Do you want to stay here?"

"I'm fine with it," Angel replied with a smile. Both Alan and Angel were Infected of few words, but it seemed that both of them had good hearts, as did Healer, and as such, it seemed that they would make great additions to the alleyway group. After a little more conversation, a few of them began showing the newcomers into the safe room, showing them where stuff was. All of them seemed at ease, except for one.

"Jeffry, what's wrong?" Boomer asked, looking concerned.

"That Cole guy is going to try to hurt us," Jeffry replied quietly, gripping tightly the spray paint can that he had so long ago gotten from Calli.

"What makes you think that?"

"I…I can just…just tell. He's going to come soon."

"Jeffry, you don't need to worry, he doesn't know where we are," Boomer patted Jeffry on the shoulder, trying to be reassuring to the little distressed Infected.

"Okay…" Jeffry mumbled, though he didn't seem like he really believed what Boomer said. It was a fairly normal day for the rest of the day. Everyone was getting to know the newcomers. They even managed to retrieve some mattresses for them, and squeeze them into the already mostly taken up space in the alley. And after a little more talking, they went to sleep. It seemed fine enough. The key word being "seemed". Jeffry didn't know just how right he was.

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Guess what guys? :D Fight scene next chapter! X3 Woohoo! :D Lol let's just hope that I haven't gotten rusty at writing fight scenes. XD And anyway time to keep up with my tradition and give you guys a question for the chapter! For all the newbies out there, each chapter will have a question at the end. It's so that I can learn more about your OCs, because the better I know them, the better I can represent them. And anyway, since the next chapter has the first fight scene ever of the series, here's your question for this time…

Okay, so I know your Infected's basic abilities in battle. But can you tell me their battle tendencies? Like, do they rush in first, or think of a plan first, and all that jazz. And also, do they use certain strategies? Just give me a bunch of details on their fighting styles, cause I wanna make this fight scene as awesome as possible! X3


	3. The Initial Attack

Yay! Third chapter! Lol I worked had on this one…in between helping my dad build an engine for the car he races…and building a motorcycle…and working on summer homework…and…stuff. Lol. But anyway! I can tell you that the action scenes in this chapter aren't anywhere near as awesome as possible. I'm going to work up to the pure awesomeness from here, but don't expect anything uber amazing in this chapter. XD Also, since Valery hasn't gotten a very big part so far, I started and ended the chapter with her! Whoo! :D Lol yeah, anyway, let's get going! :D

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter and Noir, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nikiu owns Valery. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole and Gina. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy.

Long disclaimer is long. And will soon enough be even longer. XD

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It was around the middle of the night. Everyone had been sleeping, and Valery had thought that it would stay that way. At least, up until she felt someone shaking her awake.

"Huh…?" she mumbled, blinking and looking around.

"Val, wake up!" it was Jeffry. What was going on? As Valery sat up, she coughed. Strangely enough, there was smoke in the air. And not the smoke that usually floated around the alley. Then, she saw it. The buildings around them were up in flames.

"Wh-What's going on?" she exclaimed, standing up quickly.

"It's Cole and those guys," Jeffry explained to her quickly. "They came."

"Where's everyone else?" she asked, joining a few of the others by the back of the alley.

"We've all gotten split up," said Mike, who happened to be next to her. "Sam was the first one to wake up and notice the fire. Then, everyone was running around trying to get everyone else and important stuff out of the safe room before it burned, and basically, with all this smoke around, it looks like we've split off into separate groups." As Valery saw the rest of their group, she saw that it was just her, Jeffry, Mike, and Angel. Next job, look for a way out.

"Okay…" Valery looked around for some sort of exit. She finally found an alleyway that looked as if the fire hadn't gotten to it yet. "Let's go!" The group started off towards the alley, only to stop dead in their tracks when a large and unfamiliar infected blocked their path.

"Going somewhere?" Hammer asked, raising a huge fist in preparation for an attack.

"Everyone, move back!" Valery, who was in front, shouted as his arm began to come down. "Move back!"

…...

"This smoke is so thick that I can't see anything!" Smoker shouted in irritation. "Are you all still there!"

"Yeah, looks like we're all here!" came a call from Sam. "At least, I think so…"

"Alright, let's all get out of here!" Smoker yelled, hoping that the whole group heard him. "I can see a little bit of light coming from this way! Follow my voice!" After a moment of groping around blindly Smoker finally managed to find his way out of the plume of smoke and onto the street. He looked back, coughing a bit, to see if everyone else had found it. Sam was the next to come out, but of course Sam would find the way, though, with his heightened senses. Clawer followed close behind, Healer in tow.

"Was there anyone else behind you?" Smoker asked them.

"I don't think so," Clawer shook his head. "If there was, they didn't say anything."

"Wait, wait!" came a shout from the smoke, followed by coughing. It was Hunter that emerged from the billowing cloud, followed by Boomer. "Geez, that damn Cole! I'm gonna kill him for this!"

"Right now, let's just worry about finding everyone else," Smoker told him. Suddenly, they heard a voice coming from a nearby alley, one across the street.

"That sounded like Calli," Healer said, wondering why Calli would be on the other side of the street.

"Let's go see if she's okay," Smoker started across the street, then went into the alley, followed by the others.

"Think again," came a voice, this time different, that echoed through the alleyway. They all looked up only to see Gina standing up on a fire escape, leaning against the guardrail, and Noir sitting on the sets a few feet above her.

"Where's Calli?" Smoker demanded, worried that something bad had happened to her.

"Your friend was never here," Gina replied, still seeming calm, even in the face of her and Noir being outnumbered.

"Well, I can take care of the rest of this," Noir said, standing up and stretching a bit.

"I'm going to go help out Cole, then," Gina said, beginning to make her way up the fire escape.

"You honestly think that you can take us on by yourself, kid?" Hunter asked, forgetting the fact that they were supposed to be being wary.

"We'll just have to see, I guess. Let's go."

…...

"Yes, yes, check this out!" Cole grinned as he watched the alleyways burning from a nearby rooftop. "This is awesome!"

"It's too bad that we don't have everyone," Gina said, walking up next to him. "We're pretty thinly spread. It might not go well."

"Yeah, right," Cole laughed. "These guys have got no clue who they're up against. I mean, we've got Hammer taking out one group, Noir on another, and I think that Ivy was going to be giving him backup. Hey…wait, where's Eric? What's he doing?"

"I think that he wanted to avoid fighting," Gina shrugged.

"Whatever," Cole said, not really caring. "We've got enough people already, anyway." Suddenly, out on the ground below, a group burst out of the cloud of smoke that was billowing out onto the streets.

"Come on, we have to move," Alan was saying to Taunter and Calli, who were following close behind him as they ran into the street. "Are there any safer areas around the city?"

"I can't really think of anything…" Taunter paused, thinking. "How about you, Calli?"

"I've not nothing," Calli frowned and shrugged. "The safe house back there _was_ our only safe area."

"Hello, what's this?" Cole looked down at the group below. "Interesting…"

"What are you planning on doing?" Gina asked him.

"Gina, go make sure that Noir is doing alright," Cole told her. "I know that he said that he could do stuff on his own, but he isn't exactly built for combat against big groups."

"Okay, whatever you say," Gina said, turning and walking back the way she had come. "Just don't do anything stupid."

"When have I ever done anything like that?" Cole called to her as she left.

"Wait, I heard something," Taunter stopped down on the street. "I think that that Cole guy is nearby."

"Right you are!" came a shout, and they all turned to see Cole standing on top of the building they were near.

"Who's that?" Alan asked seriously after a momentary pause.

"He's that guy that started all this," Calli replied, glaring at Cole. "He's trying to get us killed."

"Alright then…" Alan pulled his gun out of its holder on his belt.

"You really know how to shoot that thing?" Taunter asked in surprise. Alan didn't reply, but took aim.

"Well, geez," Cole said, surprised himself. "I never expected any of you to be able to use firearms." He quickly had to take cover as Alan fired off a shot, and it whizzed right above his head. "I'm going to have to take these guys on short range."

…...

"Mike, get Jeffie out of here!" Valery shouted as Hammer began to come down the alleyway towards them after missing his first punch.

"What about you guys?" Mike asked, not wanting to leave without Valery and Angel.

"You're the fastest, so just get Jeffie away from the fighting, okay?" Valery insisted. "We'll be fine."

"Alright, whatever you say!" Mike finally consented, picking Jeffry up with some difficulty, then dashing off down the alleyway, right past Hammer, who hadn't been expecting him to be so fast. But then, he turned back to Valery and Angel, who were still stuck in the alley as it slowly burned to a crisp.

"I don't think that we have a chance in here while it's burning up like this…" Valery said, trying to think of any other options.

"Well…" Angel took a deep breath. "If you don't have a door…make one." Angel turned to the nearest building's wall, and punched it with all his might, making a hole in the bricks, much to Valery's surprise. He was so strong! She had never really seen a Tank in action before, so you couldn't blame her for being surprised. Hammer saw what they were trying to do, and attempted to stop them, but they were already through the hole by the time he got there. Still, he was persistent, and followed them through. He was not aiming to lose this battle.

…...

"I thought that you were going to try to fight us," Hunter called up to Noir, who was still on the fire escape. "Are you just going to stand up there all day?"

"Hunter, don't provoke him," Smoker said quickly. "I have a feeling that he can do a lot more than we think. Otherwise, they wouldn't have left him to fight us alone."

"Very smart," Noir commented, not taking his eyes off of the group below, watching their every movement. "And as you might have guessed, I'm not usually one to make the first move in battles."

"Well, I am, and I'm tired of waiting!" Hunter shouted, jumping up and onto the railing of the fire escape, Noir merely taking a few steps back and going over to the other side.

"Hunter, hang on!" Smoker shouted. "You still don't know what he can do! Get back down here!"

"You should probably listen to him, you know," Noir smiled slightly, seeming to have a trick up his sleeve.

"What are you gonna do?" Hunter asked him, not believing that his enemy could be a threat..

"Oh, I don't know…maybe something…like this?" Noir's pale eyes suddenly flashed in quick succession, in something like a pattern. Almost like morse code sped up. And that was the last thing that Hunter saw before his vision went completely pitch black. But he hadn't passed out. He could feel that he was still conscious. He blinked a few times, but his vision didn't return.

"The hell…?" he looked around a bit, but still wasn't able to see anything.

"Hunter, move!" he heard Smoker shout just before Noir shoved him off of the railing. He managed to grab the bottom of the fire escape before he fell, straightening out and jumping to the ground.

"You actually let him push you?" that was Sam talking now. "Why did you do that?"

"I can't see anything," Hunter replied.

"Well, push your hood up, then."

"No, I mean that my freaking eyes aren't working!"

"What did you do?" Smoker looked up at Noir as Hunter blindly tried to find his way around the alley. The rest of the group looked up him as well, expecting an answer of some sort.

"Hang on, don't look at his eyes!" Hunter tried to warn them. But it was too late. More flashes, and then, all of them were left blind.

"Wh-What the…?" Clawer asked in confusion.

"I can't see anything!" Healer exclaimed, clinging to his arm.

"That's what I was trying to tell you!" Hunter could be heard shouting.

"Well, sorry to leave you all hanging like this, but…" that was Noir's voice, "I have another job to do. So I'm going to get going."

"Hey, wait!" Hunter shouted, but he could hear the klangs of metal on the fire escape as Noir ascended the stairs. And then, he was gone. And to Hunter's surprise, a moment later, he got back his sight. "Hey, I can see again." They had to wait a little while longer for the others, but they eventually regained their ability to see, as well.

"Geez…what was that?" Sam asked. "His eyes just flashed, and then I couldn't see anything."

"See? That's why I said that we should wait to find out what he can do before fighting him," Smoker sighed.

"But how does that work?" Hunter said, still hardly able to believe what had happened. "How can his eyes flashing possibly affect us? It makes no sense."

"Let's just try to find everyone else," Healer interrupted them, seeming concerned. "I'm worried about how they're doing."

"Yeah, she's right," Smoker agreed. "Let's just get going. We have to make sure that everyone else is okay."

…...

Calli and Taunter had had to take cover as the battle started. Cole kept on trying to get closer to Alan in order to use more direct attacks, but Alan somehow managed to keep his distance. And his skill with a gun was unbelievable. Almost as if he had never been infected, though from his appearance, it was obvious that he had.

"Hold still!" Cole shouted, setting the piece of debris that Alan was hiding behind up in flames, but Alan managed to move out of the way fast enough, firing a few shots from his gun as he ran for a new piece of cover. Cole ducked down behind a car, and the alarm was set off as the bullets hit them. A distant howling could be heard, and it was getting closer.

"Great, now the horde is coming!" Calli said, seeing the horde running down the street, far away. "How could this ever get any worse?"

"Let's not jinx it," Taunter said with a nervous laugh. Within seconds, the horde had stampeded into the area, keeping both Cole and Alan rooted to where they were. The running Commons had bumped into Alan a lot, bustling him around so much that he dropped his gun, and Calli ran to pick it up, then gave it back to him. And yet, even as the three from the alley were having difficulty moving around, a smile was spreading across Cole's face.

"What're you so happy about?" Calli shouted at him.

"Well, when you shot that car, you actually made things easier for me!" he grinned. "You've brought me a living, moving box of tinder!" Cole grabbed the nearest Common by the arm, and in the next instant, it burst up into flames. Obviously in pain, it pulled itself free, pushing into the group of Commons, setting the others on fire.

"Oh my God…" Calli was shocked. "I mean, I know that they're just Commons, but they can feel, too!"

"Do I care?" Cole asked, shrugging. Taunter, on the other side of the group from where Calli and Alan were, saw that the flaming Commons were spreading, and they were beginning to come near her. She was going to tell Calli and Alan that she was going to move, but then Cole would know. And he was the _last_ person that she wanted to tell where she was going. And so, she snuck into a nearby alleyway.

"I'll find Calli and Alan later," she whispered to herself. "I don't know how to fight anyway, I would just get in the way." She paused at the end of the alley, hearing more gunshots go off out on the street. She glanced back, out of the alley.

"Maybe I should have stayed…" Taunter said to herself. "I mean, as creepy as Cole is, he might have listened to me if I told him to stop…"

"Are you lost?" came a question from directly behind her. Taunter jumped, letting out a squeak of laughter from being startled. She turned around, and was less than happy to see Noir standing a few feet away from her.

"What do you want?" she asked, backing up a step or two. "Don't you work for Cole?"

"Well, that might be what it looks like," Noir shrugged. "I mean, I'll act like that, but I don't really listen to him anyway. You're looking for a way out, right?"

"Yeah…" Taunter said, still suspicious of him. "I am."

"I can show you the way," Noir was smiling, but Taunter still couldn't tell the intention behind that smile. He could somehow keep himself unreadable even while smiling. "I even helped a few of your friends out."

"Who?" Taunter asked in surprise.

"Oh, hoodie guy, the guy who smokes, all those guys," Noir shrugged. "They're over here, if you want to see them."

"How do I know that I can trust you? You're working with Cole."

"As if I would listen to what Sir Burns-a-lot would say. Seriously, I can help you out right now."

"Well…alright. Fine. Show me where they are, then I'll believe you," Taunter finally consented. "But on our way there, I still don't trust you!"

"Fair enough," Noir replied. "Come on, it's this way." To her surprise, he took her wrist, then started leading her off down an adjoining alley. His hand seemed wet…was it sweat? She was starting to get a headache, and she didn't know why. Her limbs began to feel numb, for no reason at all. And that's when she fell. And Noir let go, letting her fall.

"Wow, you're pretty stupid, huh?" he asked, laughing a bit once she was on the ground. "You trust _way_ too easily."

"Wh-Why can't I move?" she said, her stomach dropping straight down into a huge sinking feeling.

"It's called poison. Ever heard of it?" Noir questioned her. "I mean, seriously. Why would you actually let me touch you? I guess that you teenagers are almost as stupid as adults, huh? Well, see you."

"Wait, you're just going to leave me here?"

"It was just my job to paralyze you. Nothing more. And that's all that that poison's going to do. I wouldn't use the stronger ones. At least, not this time. After all, Cole said that he wanted you alive. But he can find you on his own, if he's so set on it. Bringing you back wasn't in my job description this time around. So…yeah. Bye." And without another word, he turned and walked away.

"What a rotten kid…" Taunter grumbled to herself as she lay there on the ground. "Dang it, I can't move anything but my face! This sucks! What am I supposed to do…?"

…...

Angel had managed to seal off the building that they had gotten Hammer into. And while Hammer was busy pounding away at the walls to try to get out, they made their escape.

"I wonder if Mike and Jeffie are okay…" Valery said as she and Angel took a rest inside one of the alleys.

"I'm sure that they're fine," Angel said, trying to reassure her.

"I sure hope so," Valery nodded. "But I guess that that's all that we can do at this point…hope."

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Lol more semi-dramatic endings! :P Lol like I said before, the fight scenes will normally be a lot better than this. XD It's going to work up to being epic-ful. :3 Oh oh and listen to this lol. XD I was reading the Left 4 Dead Wiki, and I was reading the FAQ for a campaign, and this one part said, "be careful in the alleyway, special infected love to hang out in there". And I was just like "LOL! XD" How coincidental. :3 Omg wait. Agh! I meant for a new OC to show up in this chapter! DX I forgot! D: Oh well, next chapter, then! ^^; Anyway, time for the question of the chapter. :D This time, there's going to be a different question for each team, alright? Okay, so, here we go!

For the good guys: Exactly what does your Infected think about Cole and his team at this point? (lol as if I couldn't guess.)

For the bad guys: If your Infected had to kill another Infected, would they do it? And if they did, would they feel guilty about it later on?


	4. More Yet to Come

I'm sorry that this took so long! x_x I've just got so much more writing to do…I've got my summer homework, and also my novel, which I plan to publish…I'll be a young and awesome published author, like that Christopher Paolini guy! :3 Plus, I've got a lot of cleaning and such to do…and stuff… lol well, anyway, I'm sorry but these updates are going to come a bit slower than the older ones, because I'm seriously putting more effort into these chapters! x_x Also, please be aware that I've accepted ALL of the OCs that have been submitted, and I'm not accepting any more. But you can be sure that if you gave me one, I'm going to use them, all in good time…I wanted to introduce more in this chapter, but I only got to mention a few new ones…oh, and also! The order that the OCs appear in the story doesn't have anything to do with what order I received them in! I'm just debuting them when they fit best. :3 So, sorry for making you wait so long! D: Pluuus, one last thing. I made one more OC for the bad guys team, just to try to even things out a bit more…aaand that's it. Soooo, we've got all of our OCs, yaaaay! :D Well, anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole and Gina. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awsomedacious1 owns Lurker.

The disclaimer is like an ameba…it just grows and grows and grows…sorry if I've forgotten someone! Disclaimers are hard when you have this many characters! XD And OCs who haven't shown up yet will show up soon! I promise!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The sounds of battles could still be faintly heard as Noir crossed the rooftops once he had gotten up the fire escape and away from the other group. He wanted to go back to where everyone else was as fast as he could, and couldn't help feeling a bit more at ease when he saw Gina coming over from another roof.

"How'd it go?" she called to him.

"Really good, actually," he said, once they had walked over to each other. "They were total idiots, as expected. They walked right into my trap, of course. How are things over with everyone else?"

"Well, Cole is fighting some guy with a gun or something…" Gina sighed. "He's most likely going to get himself shot or something."

"Well…that's to be expected," Noir replied. "He's going to get in way over his head some day."

"True."

"Hey, guys!" came a sudden shout. Noir and Gina both looked down at the street, wondering exactly who it was that was calling them.

"Tai?" Noir asked in surprise. "When did _you_ get here?"

"Just now," Tai called back up to them, his short brown hair getting blown around by a slight wind that passed by. "Mauler and Jojo are pretty far behind, since Jojo kept on getting distracted, and Shawn's a bit farther ahead of them. Lurker was with me, but he said that he didn't wanna walk with me anymore. I don't know why, though."

"Yes, I wonder…" Noir said sarcastically. "I mean, really, your constant talking is just _so_ interesting. Who would ever not want to walk with you?"

"Him, apparently," Tai gave a bit of a laugh. "So, it sounds like there's fighting going on or something. Do you guys need some help?"

"Well, not us in particular, but some of the others might need a little help. And Cole is going to be pissed that you're all so late."

"Well, better late than never, right?" Tai grinned up at them. "Anyway, I'm gonna go help everyone else!" He started off at a run, eager to find everyone else, apparently.

"Hey, wait!" Noir shouted after him. Still, Tai didn't stop, and soon rounded a corner. "Idiot! He doesn't even know who we're fighting yet!"

"That is _so_ like him," Gina sighed. "Come on, let's go see if Cole's gotten himself into anything he can't handle."

"Fine. I just want to finish this stupid fight already."

…...

Most of the groups from the alleyway had managed to meet up. Alan and Calli had been the last ones to arrive, having had to retreat from Alan's battle with Cole due to all of the cover having been burned up.

"Is everyone here?" Smoker asked, looking around.

"I'll count," Boomer said, and began a head count, to make sure that everyone was present. "We're…well, we're off by three."

"Mike and Jeffie are still off somewhere…but they're probably fine," Valery said. "I mean, Mike is fast enough to get away if they have to."

"Who else is missing, then?" Sam asked.

"Where's Taunter?" Calli posed her own question. All of them looked around. She was nowhere to be found.

"Ah, _crap_!" Hunter shouted. "That creep Cole is probably…oh, no way! No way!"

"Well, what are we going to do about this?" Smoker asked, urgency edging his voice.

"I can follow her scent…I think…" Hunter said, heading for the entrance to the alley they had all gathered in. "With all the smoke in the air, it'll be kind of hard, but I'll try!"

"Good luck!" Healer shouted after him.

"I'll go try to find Mike and Jeffry then," Sam said, also heading out of the alley.

"Let's just hope that they can find them…" Valery said quietly.

"For now, let's set up a perimeter," Smoker said. "I want two people on watch at every entrance to the alley, and at least one watching the roofs. I'm not going to risk any more injuries. And I'm not going to let Cole and his goons get the best of us."

…...

Cole had made his way back up to the top of the building, confident that he had just won a fight. Things had gone in his favor, and they _had_ retreated, after all. So, it was his win.

"Oh. So you _didn't_ get shot," came a voice, and Cole turned to see Noir now on the same building as him, with Gina following behind.

"No, I didn't get shot," Cole replied. "I didn't even come close to getting shot. Those guys had no chance against me, anyway. They just ran away like babies."

"Either way, a few more from our team have arrived," Gina commented. "Tai is here now. And apparently Shawn and Lurker are close behind."

"What about Mauler and Jojo?"

"Apparently, Jojo keeps getting distracted, and Mauler can't leave him alone."

"Ugh, god dammit, Jojo," Cole sighed in exasperation. "I mean, that's the one thing I didn't factor into the plan. Jojo being distracted. And there's only one reason for him messing up my plan so bad: He's a dumbass. And there's no accounting for dumbass…ness."

"Uh-huh…so, you have a plan, right?" Noir asked. "I mean, you weren't just expecting to scare them enough to make them go away…right?"

"Yeah, of course I have a plan!"

"Do you even know where they all are now?"

"…No, but I have a plan, dammit! Well, whatever, at least another member of the team is here. Where is Tai, anyway?"

"He ran off to 'help' people," Gina replied. "Without even learning who our enemies are."

"Ugh…" Cole groaned in annoyance. "_What_ am I going to do with all of these morons?"

"Maybe you should have thought of that when you recruited them," Noir remarked. "But they're not leaving now, so you can just blame yourself if you want them gone. Now are we going to find those other guys or not?"

"Alright, alright!" Cole said quickly. "Geez. Let's wait until the rest of our team gets here. Then we'll attack again."

"But by then, all of the ones that we're trying to chase out of town will have had time to prepare, too!"

"Well, can you think of a better idea?"

"I bet I could."

"Then why don't you?"

"I don't feel like it! Don't tell me what to do!"

"Guys," Gina interrupted them, tired of their bickering. "Let's just go find Hammer, Ivy, Eric, and Tai, then decide what to do. How's that for a plan?" Both of the other two paused.

"Fine," they both said in almost perfect unison. They looked at each other for a moment, then turned away.

"Whatever," Noir added. "Let's just get going already."

"Oh, and Noir, did you paralyze that girl for me?" Cole asked.

"Yeah, it was easy."

"Then, where is she?"

"Find her yourself."

"…Brat." Cole frowned at Noir, who had already started following Gina as she made her way down from the roof to try to find the others. "Really?" He didn't get a response. "…_Really_?"

"Yeah. Get to it."

"Fine, I'll see you guys later," Cole grumbled, choosing a different path to get down from the roof. "Geez."

…...

"I still have no idea where we are…" Mike looked around. "Do you know, Jeffry?" Jeffry shook his head, and Mike took another look around, trying to get their bearings. He had been in such a hurry to get Jeffry off to safety that he hadn't been paying attention to where he had been running to. "Hm…" Overhead, he suddenly heard a sound, and they looked up to the roofs above.

"There you guys are," Sam smiled. "Took me a while to find you, but it's okay."

"Oh, hey, Sam," Mike replied. He seemed pretty glad, and Jeffry was smiling gently, too. "Man, I'm pretty glad to see you. We were sorta lost."

"Well, just follow me, and I'll show you the way back."

"Sounds good. Oh, and thanks."

"No problem. Come on, let's head back."

…...

"Hellooo?" Tai called, making his way into a new alley. "Geez. Where did everyone go? It was all loud and stuff just a little while ago…Anybody here?"

"Who's there?" came a response, and Tai looked around.

"Uh…it's me, Tai," he replied. "Are you a new member of the team or something? Where are you?"

"Down here," came the reply, and he looked down to see a girl lying on the ground.

"Whoa, are you okay?" he asked, walking over to her.

"I've been better…" she replied. "I got paralyzed. Are you with Hunter and everyone?"

"Hunter?" Tai asked, guessing that he must also be a new member of Cole's team. "Uh-huh. Do you need some help? I could get you back, if you want."

"Sure, that would be helpful," she replied. "And since you're on our team, I know that I can trust you. Boy, am I ever glad to see you!" Tai reached down, pulling her up onto his back with some difficulty, losing his balance slightly, then righting himself.

"So, what's your name?" he asked.

"I'm Taunter," she replied. "And you said that your name was Tai?"

"Yup. The one and only," he chuckled a bit, beginning to walk down the alley. "I'm not really all that well known on the team yet…I'm still pretty new."

"Yeah, I haven't seen you around before."

"Still, I'm going to work my hardest to help out."

"I'm going to, too. Wow, you seem really nice."

"Really?"

"Yeah! Wanna be friends?"

"Sure!" After going down the alley a bit further, a hooded Infected suddenly jumped down from a roof, landing in front of them.

"Oh, Hunter!" Taunter said, seeming happy. "You're okay! That's great! How's everyone else?"

"Fine…" Hunter said slowly. "Uh…Taunter? Who is he?"

"Oh, this is Tai," she replied. "I got paralyzed, and he was helping me out."

"So, is this the guy you wanted to find?" Tai asked.

"Yup, looks like I'm all set. Thanks, Tai!"

"You're welcome!" Tai grinned, handing Taunter over to Hunter so suddenly that Hunter stumbled a bit. "Well, I've done my part. I've gotta get going."

"Aren't you coming with us?" Taunter asked.

"Nope, I still have some stuff to take care of. Well, see ya!" Tai took off down the alley, waving all the way.

"Bye!" Taunter called after him. There was a long pause.

"He…didn't do anything…weird…right?" Hunter broke the silence.

"Weird? I don't think so? What do you mean by weird?" she asked.

"Uhh, nothing," he said quickly. "Come on, let's head back. Everyone was really worried about you. We're all okay, and you're the last one we had to find. Besides Mike and Jeffry."

"What happened to them? Are they okay?"

"Don't worry, Sam's out looking for them. For now, let's just get back, where it's safe."

"Okay, let's go."

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Lol…I must say, that that one line that Cole said about dumbasses was actually a tribute to one of my fav animes, Air Gear… XD Sadly, I didn't think up the line, just tweaked it a bit… ^^; I just thought that it would totally be something that Cole would say! XD So, yeah, Funimation owns their dub line from that one Air Gear episode. But I tweaked it, so it's not plagiarism. :/ Well, anyway, I hope that you liked the chapter! Anyway, question time! This time, the question is for both teams! :D

Alright, here it is…Do you think that Tai would actually be dense enough to help the wrong team again? XD

Ohhh Tai…lol he did the same thing that I probably would have done, if I was in his position XD Anyway, see you guys next chapter! :3


	5. New Intentions

Wow, for once I don't submit a chapter in the middle of the night! Woohoo! :D It's still night time, though…lol, for me, at least. XD Don't know about all your time zones. XD Oh, and please excuse my suckish chapter naming skills. o_o; I'm much better at naming comedy chapters lol. ^^; Anyway, a few more OCs appear in this chapter! Yaaaaay! :D And I've got nothing more to say…I think…except that fanfiction is glitching up my chapters again! Agh!…oh well! Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole and Gina. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awsomedacious1 owns Lurker. A Little Help Here owns Spectre.

This disclaimer is very long. :o And we even still don't even have everyone in there, yet. ._. Lol…the fact that it's so long makes it a big pain in the butt to copy and paste it to each chapter and add on the new characters, lol. XD

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"Hey, you found her!" Calli exclaimed as Hunter walked into the alley with Taunter.

"Yeah. Some guy named Tai was helping her," Hunter said, putting Taunter down onto the ground, sitting up against a wall so she could be comfortable while she still couldn't move on her own. "He ran off somewhere, though. Is he with you guys?"

"Tai…? No, we haven't met anyone named Tai," Boomer told him. "Oh, and by the way, Sam found Mike and Jeffry. They got back a little while ago."

"Oh, good…still, I wonder who that guy was?"

"Well, whoever he was, he was nice," Taunter smiled. "I mean, he really helped me out. If he hadn't found me sooner, then it might have been Cole who found me first." She shuddered a bit.

"I would've gotten there before that Cole jerk," Hunter said.

"I sure hope so!"

"Alright guys, now that everyone's here…" Smoker said to everyone, "we're going to need to think up a plan. So, let's all gather together for a little bit." Soon enough, everyone had gathered together in the main alley, ready to make a plan to try to gain the upper hand.

"Well, first thing's first," Smoker started off the meeting. "We're going to have to get this alley fortified somehow. Our old alley is probably as good as charcoal by now, so we're going to have to stay here. So, any ideas on how we can make this place more like a fort without being conspicuous?"

"That's the problem, right?" Sam asked. "I mean, if we put up a wall or anything, they'll know that we're in here right away. For now, they don't know where we are, at least."

"It looks like the only thing we can really do now is post watches, I guess," Mike shrugged. "As long as we have somebody watching, we'll know when something's about to happen."

"Yeah, that's true," Smoker nodded.

"Hey, how about we get a bunch of those bile bottles and when those other guys come, we toss the bottles at them?" Healer asked. "They'll be too distracted with the horde to deal with us!"

"You can't count on that," Calli shook her head. "I mean, they don't care about the Commons at all. Cole set a whole crowd of Commons on fire when he was fighting Alan. He didn't care about them at all."

"Are you serious?" Valery asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I'm serious. I mean, the Commons may be stupid, but they don't deserve being set on fire. We should try to leave them out of this."

"Cole and his team really have us backed up in a corner here, don't they?" Smoker sighed, lighting a cigarette. "Well, whatever. We seriously have to think of a plan, and think of it before they attack again. Let's get to work."

…...

"So, let's see…" Cole paused for a moment, thinking. "They're still not here? Christ, you'd think that they'd _died_ or something!"

"Hey! Who are you calling dead?" came a shout from the entrance to the burnt out building. Cole looked up from where he was sitting to see two Infected in the doorway.

"Shawn. And Lurker," he said, somewhat surprised at their appearance. "You're so late!"

"We can walk at whatever speed we want," Shawn, the one who had first spoken, said back to him. "I mean, we don't _have_ to listen _that _closely to you. What do you think we are, your servants?"

"Ha ha ha," Cole said, punctuating each "ha" with sarcasm. "Servants, huh? So, Shawn, how are your _bear_ issues coming along?"

"Shut up," Shawn frowned. Cole ignored him, and turned to Lurker.

"Well, what's _your _excuse for being late?" he asked.

"I didn't want to have to walk with the chatterbox," Lurker replied simply.

"You mean Tai? Well, I can't blame ya for that, so, you're fine."

"And I'm not fine?" Shawn asked indignantly.

"Uhh…nope. Whatever. Come on, everyone else is in the back room."

"Well, we can sorta see that, considering that the _walls_ are gone."

"Ugh, just come in! Geez." The three of them went into the back room of what used to be the building, joining the rest of the team, who had in actuality heard the entire conversation, but decided not to comment.

"Hm? We're missing one," Cole said, slightly confused.

"Not anymore! Hang on!" came a shout, and Tai came half climbing, half falling through the remains of one of the back windows. "Sorry I'm late. I was helping out a girl that was all paralyzed and stuff." There was a pause, and both Cole and Noir gave him a look.

"You…helped her?" Noir asked, breaking the silence.

"Well, yeah," Tai nodded.

"What did she look like?" Cole asked, now sure that Tai had seriously messed up. Again.

"Uh, well, brown hair, gray jacket…she's on our team, right?"

"No, you…!" Cole cut himself off. This could actually prove to be a good opportunity, he realized after a second of thought. "Oh, right! That girl! Yeah, yeah, she's on our team. And so are all of the other people she's with."

"Oh, good," Tai smiled. "I was a bit worried that I had helped out the wrong people!"

"Nope, now anyway, I've got a new job for you."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. All you have to do is go find that girl and her team, and bring them right into that alley over there," Cole pointed across the street, "…you know, to meet everyone else. They're new, and they still don't know us very well."

"Okay, sounds good," Tai nodded. "I'll go find them now."

"Hang on," Cole stopped him as he started to leave the building. "Just one more thing. Don't mention any of our names."

"How come?"

"I just don't want them to get confused. You know, if they hear our names before they meet us, they'll get us mixed up. Just leave the names for later."

"Okay, I'm gonna get going then. See you guys later!" Tai began to leave, and everyone was quiet while he went.

"Is it really okay to trick him like that?" Eric asked after he was gone.

"Sure it is," Cole shrugged.

"Oh, it was a trick?" Shawn grinned. "Nice."

"I swear, that Tai is the most gullible person on _earth_," Ivy added.

"If he were back here right now," Noir continued the additions, "and I said that gullible was written on the ceiling, he would look up. And…this room doesn't even have a ceiling." He got a few chuckles out of that, and seemed satisfied with himself.

"Well, either way, let's all get ready for a fight," Cole said. "Hm…let's go with…Formation Alpha this time."

"Alpha? What kind of name is that?" Shawn asked.

"You know, Alpha. Like Alpha Dog," Cole shrugged.

"Lame."

"Oh, forget it! Everyone, just get in positions! This is gonna be short and painless. For us, at least. Now, let's get ready."

…...

"I can't believe that none of us can think of anything," Valery frowned. "There has to be something we can do."

"We should get Tank and Witch," Clawer suggested.

"Yeah, you're right," Smoker nodded. "They could both be a big help."

"But what are we gonna do about fortifying the alley?" Hunter asked, bringing up the previous subject. "I mean, we can't do nothing…but if we do something, they'll know that we're here. Damn, this is annoying."

"Maybe we should just keep moving around," Sam said. "I mean, at least then they wouldn't know where to find us."

"That sounds like all we really can do…" Smoker paused. He blinked a few times, then looked over at the opening to the alley. "Uh…can we help you with something?" Everyone else turned, seeing an Infected standing at the entrance to the alley.

"Uh…hi," Tai said with a small laugh.

"Oh, hi, Tai!" Taunter greeted him. "Did you bring the rest of the team this time? I'd love to meet them!"

"Oh, well, they actually said that I should bring you over to where they are," Tai replied. "So…do you guys wanna come?" There was a long pause.

"How do we know that we can trust you?" Mike asked after a pause.

"Oh, come on, he rescued me!" Taunter smiled. "I mean, he's fine to trust!"

"I helped with that, too…" Hunter grumbled quietly.

"How many others are we meeting up with?" Smoker asked.

"Uh…around…six or seven, I think," Tai said after a moment.

"Wow," Smoker said in surprise. "Now _that_ would help. Guys, why don't we go meet up?"

"Sure, we need all the help we can get," Sam nodded. Everyone eventually agreed to go with Tai, and they all set off. At this point, Taunter was feeling better now, so she found that she could walk on her own, much to the protests of a few of her friends that she should rest. And so, the group from the alley followed Tai down the street.

"I think it's this way…" he said as he led them away from their previous hiding spot. "Or…was it this way?"

"So, Tai, what're your friends like?" Calli asked him, interested. "Are they nice?"

"Well, some of them are," Tai nodded. "A few of them aren't all that sociable and stuff, but they're good all the same, I guess. Our leader actually saved my life once, you know."

"Really?"

"Yeah, so I owe him big time for that." Tai paused again as they came onto another road. "Oh, I know where I'm going now! Right in this alley over here!"

"He didn't know before?" Hunter asked no one in particular as they all entered into the alley.

"Hello?" Tai called as they went inside. "Anyone home?" He didn't get a response. "Huh. Guess no one's here. Maybe they're over there, in back. I'll go take a look, you guys stay here." He gave them a quick wave, then went off into one of the side alleys towards the back.

"I've suddenly got a bad feeling about this…" Clawer glanced around.

"Don't worry, he's on our side…right?" Healer replied.

"Don't be so sure about that!" came a shout, and all of them looked up only to see a very familiar red haired Infected up on the edge of a roof.

"He's with _you_?" Hunter shouted up to him.

"Yeah, Tai's on my team. How about that?" Cole smirked. "And he just led you right into a trap."

"A trap…?" Smoker looked around, seeing that the edge of the alley were lined with wooden boxes. And at each end of the alley, Gina and Noir had both placed down more of the boxes.

"Have fun," Gina called as the two of them disappeared.

"All this stuff is flammable!" Smoker shouted. "Get out of the alley, hurry!"

"Too late!" Cole grinned, and all of the wooden boxes went up in flames. "I'll see you guys later. Once you're char broiled!"

"I can't…no way! There's no way that Tai works for you!" Taunter shouted up to him.

"Oh, but he _does_ work for me," Cole replied. "Funny, huh? And you know, I was thinking that I would try to keep you out of this so we could spend some time-"

"I'd rather be stuck here in this fire than be with you!" Taunter snapped before he could finish. "Either put out the fire or go away!"

"Fine. I'll go," Cole said, turning around. "See ya." He began to walk across the roof, and started his way down the fire escape.

"Hey, Cole!" Tai was coming up to the bottom of the stairs to the fire escape, still on the ground. "Why is there smoke coming from that alley?"

"Just taking care of some pests," Cole replied, then jumped down to the ground and continued on his way.

"Pests? But I thought…hey, Cole, hang on!" Tai called after him, but Cole didn't stop walking, and was soon out of sight. He turned, then went back towards the alley, walking through the smoke that was now slowly rising.

"Hey!" he shouted. "Can you guys hear me?"

"Go away!" came the shouted reply, thought he couldn't tell who it had come from. "You tricked us!"

"But I didn't-"

"Just go away!" came another shout, cutting Tai off as he tried to reason with them. "Unless you can put out the fire, then just leave!" Tai knew that he probably wasn't going to get anywhere with this. And it was true that he wouldn't be able to put out the fire at this point. He frowned and walked away, knowing that he would regret it later. It would just stay at the back of his mind, bugging him and bugging him until he did something about it…

…...

"I don't feel like being roasted!" Calli said, looking around for an exit. "Isn't there anyway out of here?"

"I feel like we're being cooked already!" Healer said, also looking around, joining everyone in their search.

"I can't believe this!" Hunter shouted. "There is no way that I'm letting it end here!" Smoker was about to respond to that, but suddenly, there was a slam. And a door from one of the walls of the alley fell flat on the ground. There was an Infected standing in the doorway, with black hair and wearing an old and worn out outfit (which was sporting a few bullet holes) that had obviously been made just for combat. It seemed that he was the one who had kicked down the door.

"Well? Are you coming in or not?" he asked, a thick London accent edging his voice. "There's a way out on the other side."

"Who are you?" Calli asked.

"No time for that, just go!" Alan shouted out unexpectedly, going into the doorway. There was no further hesitation after that. Everyone went in. And they could see light coming in from a doorway on the other side. Soon enough, they were all outside, and had distanced themselves from the building and the flames in the alleyway.

"Why didn't you just try the door before?" the one who had helped them out asked.

"I…well…" Smoker paused, trying to think of an answer. "Aren't you not supposed to touch doorknobs during a fire…? Or…something. Something like that."

"You'll just end up dying faster if you think like that. And if you want to know who I am, my name is Spectre."

"Well…Spectre, thanks for saving us," Smoker said after a pause. "We were…well, we were really screwed, and you helped us out. So, thanks."

"No problem," Spectre nodded. "You're pretty lucky that I heard you all shouting about being cooked, otherwise I wouldn't have known to come and help. How did you end up in there?"

"There's another Infected named Cole," Hunter explained. "He's a real ass, and he wants us either out of town or dead." Spectre paused, not saying anything for a short time.

"Well, I _have_ been looking for a group to stay with for a while…Do you all need any help with this Cole guy?"

"That would be great!" Healer smiled. "We need all the help we can get, after all!"

"Alright then. I'm guessing that we're going to need to get through the introductions first."

"Yeah," Smoker nodded. "But first, let's find a place to stay for a while. So, let's go."

…...

Cole's team was gathered back at their base again. Most of the team was up in the front room, but Tai decided to join Eric in the back room, not wanting to hear Cole rant on about his achievement.

"Hi, Eric," Tai said gloomily, sitting down next to him.

"Oh, hey, Tai," Eric replied. "What's up?"

"I think that Cole tricked me into doing something bad."

"Really? That sucks. I guess that he does that to everyone."

"Why is it always burn, burn, burn with him, anyway?" Tai asked. "He never wants to work things out nicely."

"Yeah," Eric agreed. "Sometimes, I wonder if it's really this team that I should be helping out."

"Me too!" Tai said, surprised that someone shared his opinion. "I mean, I would like to switch teams, but I still owe Cole a lot…"

"But that doesn't matter if you don't like what he's having you do, right?"

"I guess not," Tai nodded, then glancing, over the singed remains of wall, over at the rest of the team in the front room. They weren't paying attention to the two of them at all. Tai turned back to Eric, hoping that nobody had heard their talking about switching teams. "Maybe we should just sneak out some day, and go over and help that other team. I bet that they're all a lot nicer than these guys."

"Yeah," Eric agreed with him. "But we should go one at a time, otherwise Cole will get suspicious."

"Okay, you can go first."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, yeah, you've been on the team longer than me, right? So, if you want to leave, then you deserve to go first."

"Okay. Thanks."

"We'll need to pick a night to start. And make a plan and everything."

"Yeah. We should do it now while nobody is paying attention to us."

"Okay, let's start thinking."

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OMG do I smell MUTINY? Lol WHAT A TWIST. And I finally was able to actually include new OCs! YAY! :D There's only a few left to introduce! ^^ And we can make the disclaimer even LONGER! 8D Lol. And I really had an urge for someone to kick down a door. So, Spectre got to do that in this chapter. XD I tried kicking down a door once…it was a fail. XD I broke the door… XD I feel like I made Spectre a little too energetic in this chapter. o_o; Lol correct me if I got his personality wrong. XD Anyway, question time, let's see…

For the good guys: If an Infected who was previously on the bad team wanted to join your character's team, the good team, what would your character do or say? Would they trust them? Would they even let them in the alley with the rest of the good guys?

For the bad guys: What would your character do if a member of your team left to go to the other team without saying anything? Would they be mad? How would they react? Would they go try to get them back?

Lol and now, one last question that's not for your characters, but for YOU! :D A Little Help Here gave me the idea of characters having theme songs, which I have done for a few of my other characters, and so I ask you, if you could choose any song to be your character's theme song, what would it be? :D And why? :3

Aaaand that's it. :3 Sooo, I hope that you guys enjoyed the chapter! :D And wow, these author's notes are really long this time around. o_o; Anyway, see you guys next chapter! :3


	6. Teams Completed

Omg sorry this took so long. x_x I was really busy, then writer's block tried to eat me…but I beat it! :D And now it's almost one in the morning. Ugh. x_x Need sleep…And…omg. All of the OCs have been introduced as of this chapter! And there's over twenty of them! o_o; How I keep track of all these guys, I don't know. XD Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam and Blake. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole, Gina, and the old lady. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awsomedacious1 owns Lurker. A Little Help Here owns Spectre. Butters321 owns Echo. Golden-Gargoyle owns Cat.

Omg. It's super disclaimer. Able to overpower every other disclaimer in the world due to how long it is! Yay! :D Lol. I feel so thankful for copy and paste right now. XD

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It was early morning, and the sun had just begun to rise up over the horizon.

"Eric, wake up," Tai was shaking Eric awake, careful not to alert the rest of the team.

"Hm?" Eric blinked, trying to shake off the drowsiness that was still clouding his mind. "Geez, do you sleep at all?"

"Hardly. But that's not important. You have to get going." As Eric stood up, Tai held out a small tattered backpack to him. "There's a few health kits in there. I managed to find a few on some dead survivors. You know how to use them, right?"

"Yeah," Eric nodded, taking the backpack. "But how am I supposed to find these guys anyway?"

"I don't know where they are, you'll just have to look around," Tai shrugged. "I was supposed to be on watch duty this morning, so I'll cover for you. I'll just say that you went out on patrol or something."

"Sounds good. When are you going to be leaving?"

"Whenever I get the chance…" Tai paused when he heard someone else stir in their sleep. "You'd better get going. We've got some pretty early risers here."

"Right. See you." Eric climbed over the broken wall in the back, and made his way into an adjoining alleyway, hoping that he could find the group that he was looking for.

…...

When everyone woke up, they saw that Smoker and Boomer had woken up early and went to get supplies from the grocery store. And it was a good thing that they had; most of the Infected in the group were starving.

"So, what do we do now?" Calli asked, munching on a piece of meat. "I don't think that just hiding is going to work anymore."

"Yeah," Taunter agreed with her. "We're going to have to take them head on."

"Yeah, that's a _great_ idea," Spectre said sarcastically.

"Well, we might be able to do that…maybe if we split them up," Smoker thought for a moment. "What if we separated their indirect fighters from their close range fighters? Then, we could take them on more easily."

"Well yeah, but we need more close range fighters to do that," Sam replied. "And where are we supposed to find more people at a time like this? I mean, we can't trust anyone anymore, especially not after what happened with that Tai guy…"

"I'm not so sure that he meant to do that…" Taunter said quietly. "I mean, he came back to check on us, remember?"

"Yeah, he didn't mean to lead us into an alley of death," Clawer rolled his eyes. "He's just the same as the rest of those bastards."

"Hm…I'm not so sure…" Taunter remained firm on her point, though it was wobbling. While everyone was talking, Hunter took a glance over at a nearby alley, thinking that he had heard something.

"Guys, hang on," he said, quieting the group. "I think we're being watched." Everyone fell silent. They all turned to look at the alley that Hunter was looking at, wondering who might be in there. Hunter got up, and started towards the alley. Soon, he was joined by Sam, who knew that he would probably need backup. The two of them slowly went over to the side of the alley, then both looked inside. At the other end, they could see three Infected. One of them was clearly a Charger, but it was unclear what kinds of Infected the other two were. There was a long pause.

"…Blake?" Sam said suddenly, going into the alley.

"Sam?" the Charger asked, his voice sounding nearly exactly like Sam's but just a bit deeper.

"What?" Hunter came into the alley. "You know this guy?"

"Know him? He's my brother!" Sam replied, then went over to the other end of the alley, a very confused Hunter following behind. "Blake, I thought that something bad happened to you!"

"I thought that something had happened to you, too," Blake answered. "Well, it looks like we were both wrong, then. I'm glad that you're okay, though!"

"Yeah, me too! Who're your friends?"

"Oh, well, this is Echo," he indicated the girl to his left, who was a skinny girl with long black hair, wearing some tattered denim jeans, a blue and black shirt, and a blue jacket.

"Hi there," she smiled, speaking with a fairly strong Boston accent and turning a baseball over and over in one of her hands to occupy herself. "Nice to meet you."

"And this is Cat," Blake indicated the other girl, who was standing to his left, and seemed much more feline-like than the others, even with orange-y fur and short fangs that could be seen sticking out from under her upper lip. Along with her ears and tail, she looked a lot like a human and a cat combined into one. Or maybe even more like a lioness. She wore a white dress and a golden locket, and hair orange hair went all the way down to about her knees.

"Hey, guys," Cat also offered up a friendly grin. This looked like it making out to be a very social group.

"So, is that your group over there?" Blake pointed over to the large group out in the open, who were attempting to see what was going on in the alley since Hunter and Sam hadn't come out for so long.

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "Hey, do you guys wanna join us?"

"Hey, hang on," Hunter halted the procedures. "I thought that you weren't going to trust anyone anymore!"

"You'd think that my own brother would be working for Cole?" Sam asked Hunter dully. "Really?"

"Who's Cole?" Cat asked, seeming curious.

"We'll explain it all to you guys once you come over with everyone else," Sam told her. "Come on, let's go. You can meet everyone else, and then we can tell you."

"Alright, as long as you think that we can trust them," Hunter shrugged as they began going back to the rest of the group. "Let's just hope that they can help us out."

…...

"So, he went out scouting, huh?" Cole seemed like he was thinking. "That's weird. He wouldn't usually do that kind of stuff…"

"Well, he did," Tai shrugged. "I guess that he just wanted to try to give an extra hand."

"And speaking of extra hands," Cole took a look over at the road, "where is the rest of our team? Having to wait this long is just stupid!" But just then, as if on cue, they all heard something. Some distant, manic laughter. When they looked down the street a second time, they could see three figures coming closer to where they were.

"Three of them?" Cole asked no one in particular, looking over at the approaching Infected. "Since when were we missing three?"

"The third one isn't on our team," Noir said, taking a look. "It's some old lady."

"Old lady? What the hell?" Cole was busy wondering exactly why in the world an old lady would be with Mauler and Jojo as they all waited for the group to reach them, which took quite a while with Jojo running all over the place and having to either see or touch nearly everything. But they got there eventually, Jojo bounding in first and apparently greeting everyone, though it was impossible to understand him around his constant laughter. As Mauler entered, the older woman hung back a bit, seemingly pausing to think about something.

"Hey, who's the hag?" Cole said to him quietly.

"I don't really know," Mauler shrugged. The bandage covered Infected took another look at the woman, then faced Cole again. "She just started coming with us along the way. I don't know who she is. I mean, she is an Infected and all, I know that much. But she seems a bit odd…" The two of them turned only to see that the old woman was now unsuccessfully attempting to give Noir a cookie from a package that she was carrying with her, and he was adamantly refusing each time. The rest of the team watched for a while as this went on.

"No means no! Don't you get it?" Noir finally shouted, obviously irritated.

"Well, there's no need to lose your temper," the woman shook her head gently. "Maybe you're just feeling grumpy today." Noir shot her the biggest glare that he could muster, but it didn't seem to register to her.

"What, are you blind or something?" he waved his hand in front of her face.

"Yes, in fact," she answered simply.

"Oh. Well then, maybe I should say that I'm _not_ very happy right now!"

"Having a bad day? You'll feel better soon. Anybody else want a cookie?"

"I'll take one," Tai spoke up, the only one who apparently wanted a cookie at the time, or ever for that matter. He walked over to her and took the cookie, munching on it. It was stale, but honestly he didn't really care. "Oh, this is good!"

"Glad you like it, dear," the woman smiled at him.

"Cole. Get her out of here. Now," Noir said none too discreetly. "I am not going to take being treated like a baby!"

"Hm…well, she does add to our already big problem of annoyances…" Cole glanced over at Jojo, who was still bouncing around their base like a ball of heated energy, and was still laughing so much that it was impossible to understand him. "Hm…I've got an idea."

"Good. Just make her leave."

"So…" Cole walked over to the woman. "You like those cookies, huh?"

"Oh, yes, I do," the lady nodded. "Do you know anywhere where I could get some more? I seem to be running low."

"Well, there is another group of Infected in this town. And they know where a huge store full of those cookies is."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Really," Cole wasn't all that enthused as he answered. "So, why don't you just go find them and ask?"

"Alright then, I guess I'll get going," the woman smiled again. "I'll see you all another time. Goodbye!" She made her way away from the base quite slowly, and it was practically unbelievable how her cheerful demeanor hadn't been changed by the brusque and rude mannerisms of Cole's team.

"I swear, if she comes back here…" Noir said once she was nearly out of sight.

"Well, geez, guys, you could have at least let me have one more cookie," Tai mumbled, and got a few looks from other team members. "Okay, okay, whatever. Just, they were really good cookies…"

…... Eric had found the other team. He was looking right at them from inside one of the dark alleys surrounding the place where they were sitting, and they hadn't noticed him. His goal was still to try to ask to join their team. But now that he was actually there, he was having some doubts. What if they knew that he used to be on Cole's team? Would they attack him? And what if they didn't let him join even without knowing that he had once been on Cole's team? But, there was no turning back now. He took a deep breath, then stepped out into the clearing. At his very first step, every head in the group turned to look at him.

"Who are you?" came a suspicious question from one of their team members.

"Uh…hi," Eric came a few steps closer, still careful to keep his distance, just in case. "I'm Eric. And as for why I'm here…well, I saw the whole thing with you guys and that red haired guy…" Eric was careful not to use Cole's name so that it would seem more like he himself was not involved, "and that guy's been doing some pretty bad stuff, so…I was just wondering…do you guys need any more help? I sorta wanted to join your team." The group seemed to converse for a second, deciding. What if they deemed him to be untrustworthy? What would they do then? Finally, they were done talking, and they turned to face him again.

"We'll let you in for now," one of them, a Smoker Infected, replied. "But we won't be able to fully trust you until you actually help us out. But like I said, sure. For now, you can come and join us." Eric smiled, then walked over, and sat down in the group. He had done it. He was in. And all of the bad deeds that he had had to let happen while on Cole's team were a thing of the past. Now he would be able to prevent them. Even though he was still not trusted, he wouldn't have to be working with evil people anymore. And he was just one thing: Relieved.

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Lol…sorry for the lack of epic fight scenes so far…I'm working my way up to it, I promise… XD Anyway, question time. :D

For the good guys: What does your Infected think about Eric joining your team?

For the bad guys: Does your Infected believe Tai's "he went scouting" story concerning Eric?


	7. Danger Coming

Omg I'm alive! Wow, this took so long! Sorry about that. x_x I mean, first the power went out, then writer's block tried to eat me, then came Otakon weekend, not to mention that I got a whole lot of really fun new video games (Arc Rise Fantasia! Buy it lol XD) and I've just been so busy! D: Not to mention that I'm going on vacation in a few days…and on vacation, I don't have internet! OH, THE HORROR! D: I'll try to work on writing while I'm there…but my cousin's kids are going to be wanting me to play with them…all day…every waking moment…of every day…oh god noooo I don't wanna gooooo! o_o Er…ahem. ^^; But, anyway! While I'm there, I'm gonna try to finish the next origins chapter and the next chapter of this, but it'll all depend on how lucky I get with time… ^^; Anyway, since you guys have been waiting for so long for this, let's get going! Enjoy the chapter!

Note 1: There have been some people still sending in OCs even though the description says that we're not taking any more…so, let me just repeat myself! :D We're not taking any more OCs! I'm very flattered by all of the people messaging me, but chapter six introduced the last of them, and I'm not taking any more of them. It's hard enough to keep track of _this_ many, and I don't wanna have to keep track of any more. XD

Note 2: Also, be aware that two of our readers/OC owners have started forums for the story! Yay! X3 Those two would be Sorrowsnow, who's got an RP forum, and Scorpion123456, who's got a Q & A forum, where you can learn more about the characters and add your own info! :D But as far as the RP forum goes, it looks like it's only for the good guys. :o I was gonna make a forum RP for the bad guys, but was too lazy to learn the controls, and gave up on that… XD Anyone wanna make an RP forum for the bad guys? Anyone? Anyone? Lol…just asking… XD

Note 3: And while I'm doing all of these notes, please remember: Fanart, in the form of drawings or oneshots or whatever is WELCOME! I would love to see it! :D In fact, it would probably help with the writer's block hiding under my bed lol XD So, fanart is great, fair readers! You can PM me to let me know about it! :D There are already a few people who have started side stories for this! Sorrowsnow has written a few oneshots, and has even started her own Left 4 Dead fic, while Zipper Whippersnapper and TwilightSymphony have begun writing side stories, both of which are AWESOME! X3 Go read them lol XD

Note 4: Aaaagh, so many notes! This is the last one! Now, listen. If you ask me a question in the comments without signing in, it makes it a whole lot harder for me to answer, right? So, if you're going to ask something, please sign in first, and make my life a bit easier! XD

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam and Blake. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole, Gina, and the old lady. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awsomedacious1 owns Lurker. A Little Help Here owns Spectre. Butters321 owns Echo. Golden-Gargoyle owns Cat.

Lol I still think that this disclaimer is pretty epic. XD It's gotten from being so small to being so big…just like the amount of vampire fan girls. ._. The vampire movies…they'll never stop…I can't take any more… ;_;

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It was morning. It had been a long, and restless night. They had had to post watches, but when Smoker woke up and found that he was the first one awake, he noticed that nobody was on watch. That was a serious problem. He looked around, counting how many others were there. Everyone who had been there yesterday was there, and nobody new had come during the night. That meant that nothing bad had happened. At least, he was fairly sure that nothing had happened. He took another look around, just to be sure, and saw that he had been correct. Still, double checking was always good, especially in situations like these. He walked through the group, trying not to step on anyone, having some difficulty doing that with the more restless ones, and soon enough, got to the other side, where Eric was asleep, his backpack lying nearby. Smoker wasn't all that suspicious of him. The one problem was the backpack. None of them ever carried backpacks. But Eric had one. Trying to be as quiet as he could, he picked up the backpack and opened it up, looking inside. Three first aid packs. That was all that was in there. Smoker was relieved to see that there wasn't anything that he would have to worry about in the bag.

"Guess that I didn't have to worry after all," he said to himself as he lit a cigarette and started trying to find a good place to keep watch from. "But, we still have to be careful."

…...

Soon enough, everyone had woken up. Ever since Cole's group had arrived in the town, the alleyway group had begun waking up earlier and earlier every day, just to be safe. And on some of them, the tiredness from not being used to waking up early was showing, either in how they acted or just in the dark circles that appeared under a few of their eyes. Smoker was busy discussing with the group (or rather, talking and hoping that they were listening) where they were going to be moving to that day. Some were watching Smoker, bleary eyed and chewing slowly on what little meat they had left, while others were simply lying on the ground and hoping to somehow become less tired. Only a few of the whole group seemed to be fully awake, mostly the newcomers. Eric was the only one that seemed fine, seeing as he hadn't been involved in the recent attacks.

"So, it looks like moving over in that direction would be safest," Smoker pointed off to their left, trying to come up with a good choice. "Since we're being chased from behind, if we move this way, they might overshoot us completely. Then, we'd be safe for a while. Is everyone alright with that?" After a moment of thought, everyone gave either a nod or a "yeah", and it was decided that they would move to the place that Smoker had indicated. Moving was all that they really could do. They had to stay out of the line of fire.

…...

"Well…it sure looks like Eric's taking his time in his 'scouting', huh?" Ivy asked as the team sat in their current stronghold. They were all in their usual spots, the places that they had found comfortable. Or at least, almost all of them. Jojo was busy running around the general area and exploring, apparently looking for horses or some such thing. Though they tried to ignore him, they knew that they had to keep an eye on him so he wouldn't run off unattended.

"He never said when he'd be back," Tai shrugged. "I mean, it _is_ a big city." There was a long moment, in which no one said anything. Tai had never been very good at lying. And he knew that. "I…uh, I could go look for him if you want-"

"I think that I'd send someone _else_ out looking," Cole cut him off. "I mean, you _were_ the only one that saw him go, and the only one who knew where he was going. So, in case you're just _lying_ about it, if I did send someone out to look, it wouldn't be you."

"Why do you think I'm lying?" Tai asked, trying to sound as casual as he could.

"I never said I did, did I?" Cole replied, still seeming like he was hardly paying attention. "I'd just think that it'd be better to have some sort of second opinion, don't you think?"

"No one else was up."

"Too bad, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Well, anyway…" Cole made himself comfortable, leaning up against what was left of one of the walls, thinking over their next move. "Even though those other guys should probably be burnt to a crisp by now, I've got a feeling that they got out somehow. After all, why else would Eric go scouting, right? Either way, we're going to need something better this time around. Any ideas?" There was a bit of a pause. A slight breeze blew through the area, picking up some dust. Still, no one said a word. "Well. That's helpful."

"Well then, why don't _you_ think of a plan?" Noir asked. "Aren't you supposed to be the leader? Leader's make plans, don't they? So make one. Or is that just beyond you?"

"Speak for yourself," Cole snapped back.

"Yeah, if you're so great, why don't you make a plan?" Shawn added. "You're all talk."

"Hm," Noir looked away, and didn't say anything more. "Whatever."

"This isn't getting us anywhere," Gina cut in.

"Yeah, she's right," Ivy agreed. "Why can't we just go do something already? I'm tired of just sitting in this stupid old building all the time."

"Maybe if you could all keep from fighting, we could get something done," Mauler sighed.

"Alright, alright, just give it a rest!" Cole said suddenly, stopping the conversation. "Let's just get this done already! I want a plan, and I want it now, so let's start thinking, cause I want that other group gone."

"Sounds good," Mauler nodded, and the team started on their thinking again. Tai, as usual, let his mind drift. He had never been that good at making plans anyway. He was almost as bad at making plans as he was at lying.

_I wonder if Eric's doing okay,_ he thought, glancing up at a cloud in the sky momentarily. _Let's hope so._

…...

"And so, that's the problem," Smoker finished his explanation.

"How do you guys always get into these kinds of messes?" Tank grumbled. He and Witch had just been located and brought over by a few of the group, and Smoker had just finished explaining the situation to them.

"Yeah, except this time, it's not something stupid like trying to get rid of a bottle of Boomer bile or stuff like that," Hunter said. "This time, it's some psycho trying to char broil us. It's a bit more a big deal, if you know what I mean."

"Sounds scary," Witch sniffled a bit.

"Hey, are you okay?" Cat asked Witch, seeing that she was crying a bit.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Echo nodded, also seeming concerned.

"She's always like that," Mike told them. "Don't worry, it's normal."

"So, can you two help us out?" Smoker was in the middle of asking Tank for help.

"I guess. I mean, we're friends, right?" Tank shrugged. "But seriously. _Why_ do you always get involved in this stuff?"

"Who knows?" Calli asked. "I mean, it seems more like danger comes straight to us."

"Anyway, I should tell you guys the plan," Smoker said to Tank and Witch. "Alright, so, we were planning on doing something sorta like this…" The group broke off into several conversations. Smoker telling Tank and Witch the plan, Jeffry and Boomer taking a tally of what they had been able to save from the safe room back in the alley, Hunter, Sam, Mike, and Valery talking of possible battle plans for future conflicts with Spectre and Alan listening and giving occasional suggestions, while a few of the others remained quiet and absorbed in their own thoughts. Eric knew that the best way to become one of the group was to first talk to someone. Though he wasn't really sure who to talk to…Even if he had come from Cole's team, he really did want to join this one instead. It seemed like a much better and more morale choice, after all. Eric glanced around, then suddenly caught one of the members of the group glaring at him. It was the boy with the black hair…what was with the glaring? Eric decided that he might as well find out who was glaring at him in the first place.

"Uh…hi," he walked up to one of the others who was not involved in a conversation already.

"Oh, hey," Taunter turned around to face him, and Calli, curious as to the newly forming conversation, turned around as well. "You're the new guy, right? What's your name?"

"Eric," Eric replied, glad that he had been able to start off a conversation alright. Now, he just needed to keep it going. "Hey…who's that guy over there?" Eric pointed to the one who had been glaring at him, who was now talking quietly with the girl sitting next to him.

"Clawer," Calli told him. "Do you know him or something?"

"No, but he was sort of giving me a bad look," Eric answered, turning back to Calli and Taunter. "I really don't have any idea _why_, though…"

"He was giving you a bad look? That's weird," Taunter said, seeming just as puzzled as Eric. "I mean, usually he's quiet, and when he's not, he's just…well, to put it short, I've never really seen him _mad_ at anyone before."

"Yeah, I haven't either," Calli agreed. "I wonder what's up? Hey, maybe he's just suspicious of you."

"Suspicious? Why?" Eric asked, though not in the least bit surprised.

"Well, there was this one other guy who said he was going to help us, but ended up leading us into a trap," Taunter told him.

"Really?"

"Yeah, some guy named Tai."

"Tai?"

"Yeah, do you know him?"

"Oh, no, I don't," Eric shook his head, not wanting to show that he had once been on Cole's team. As long as they didn't know that, he had a chance to be accepted. "Either way, sorry that he tricked you and all."

"Yeah, it really sucked!" Calli frowned. "If Spectre hadn't shown up, we would have been goners!"

"Really? What happened?"

"Well, it was just a little while ago. Yesterday, or maybe the day before, I forget which, but anyway-"

"Everyone, quiet!" came a sudden warning. Everyone turned to the center of the group. It had been Blake that had spoken. "I heard something off in one of those other alleys." He pointed to a side alley, and everyone turned to look at it. "…I'm going to go check it out."

"I'll come, too," Sam got up as well. "Safety in numbers, right? Hehe, this reminds me of that one time when you and me went into that dark forest on that dare-"

"Are you going to go check or not?" asked Hunter impatiently. "If anyone's in there waiting to get us, then I don't think they'll wait to listen to one of your stories."

"Fine, we're going, we're going," Sam said, and he and Blake started carefully off towards the alley. They both took a cautious look in, paused, then turned around and walked back.

"Nothing was there?" Smoker asked.

"No, there's someone there," Blake replied.

"Who?" Boomer tried to get a look inside the alleyway.

"An old lady," Sam replied. The whole group paused a beat, then looked over at the alley in confusion. And just as Blake and Sam had said, an old woman came out of the alley, and began approaching the group.

"Well, hello there," she said with a smile. "I'm so glad to have finally found you!"

"You were looking for us?" Taunter asked.

"Why yes, I was. I heard that you all knew where the grocery store was, so I came to ask."

"If you don't mind me asking…" Smoker said before anyone else could speak. "…who's team are you on?"

"Team? Oh, I'm not on one of those," the woman replied.

"Just how old are you?" Hunter blurted out all of a sudden.

"That's not polite…" the woman replied, though she still kept on her gentle smile.

"Yeah, don't do that," Smoker told Hunter quickly.

"What?" Hunter asked. "Inquiring minds need to know, right?"

"Um…" came a small voice. They all turned to see that it was Jeffry who had spoken. "Can I have one of those cookies, um…?"

"Just call me Granny, dear," the woman handed Jeffry a cookie from the pack. "Anyhoo, can one of you point out the direction to the grocery store for me?"

"It's that way," Smoker pointed down one of the alleys coming into the space they were in. "And then you take a left, then another left, then a right, then go straight for a block or two, and you'll be there. Just be careful. There are some pretty dangerous other Infected running around.

"Oh, I don't include myself into battles, dearie," Granny said as she began to walk away. "I'm too old for that sort of thing, you see, so I don't involve myself in it. It would be just another worry. And speaking of worries, I suggest that you all remain aware tonight."

"What…What do you mean?"

"I've got a feeling that there's a surprise coming your way…and mind you, it's not a nice surprise. Just take care of yourselves, alright? Well then, goodbye!" There was a long pause after she left.

"What was that all about?" Mike asked after she was gone. "Was she trying to threaten us or something?"

"More like she was warning us about something," Valery said, trying to think the conversation through.

"I can't really tell if we should think that she's nice or not," Calli scratched her head a bit.

"I like her," Jeffry smiled, still munching on his cookie. "She seemed really nice, and she gave me a cookie, too."

"Cookies aren't going to keep us safe, Jeffry," Smoker took a moment to get out a new cigarette, putting it into his mouth and lighting it. "We should probably start moving to our next spot. Let's go. The sun's going to set soon. And we don't want to be caught walking around when that happens." The group prepared to leave, the warning given to them by the mysterious woman hanging over their heads like a dark storm cloud on a sunny day. Something was going to happen. And it wasn't going to be good.

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It's done! Bwahahahaha! Lol that took me long enough. And trust me, once school starts, the updates will be super duper slow…considering that I'm going to have two hours of homework PER SUBJECT…every night…omg NOOOOOO! DX I don't wanna go back to school! ;A; Buuut anyway, I doubt that any of us do. XD And as for the next chapter, I'm going to try to include a fight scene to thank you guys for waiting for so long! ^^ Anyway, it's question time! :D

For the good guys: Exactly what does your Infected think of Granny, hmmm?

For the bad guys: (You guys get a special question! Feel special! :D) What kind of plan would your Infected think of to use to attack the other team? (the best idea will be used in the next chapter! And if I don't like any of them, I'll just use my own! Lol that sounded mean…sorry… XD)


	8. Battle is Here

Edit: I return from the abyss of no internet! Yes, for those of you who don't know, I was on vacation seeing family in SC…more like babysitting all of the little kids than seeing family, though… -_-; Seriously, these kids throw a fit for something as little as not getting their Dr. Pepper. o_o One of them even said that she was gonna slap me when I wouldn't let her have Doritos at bed time… O_O; I'm so glad to be home…where there aren't any small children… ;w; But, anyway! The author's comments for this chapter and the two after were written while I was there…so yeah, don't think that I've gotten confused time wise, lol XD

I wrote this AND the next Origins chapter in one day! :D I feel so proud! X3 Aaaand, as a reward for waiting SO long for me to post this, you get an extra long chapter, AND a fight scene! I hope that this fight scene is good! X3 My friends tell me that I write good fight scenes, but I haven't written one in a while. ^^; And, I tried to make sure to include everyone's characters in the fight scene…and I was focusing so much on that…that I now realize that I totally forgot to include Tank and Witch in the fight. o_o; Dang it. D: Oh well, I hope that you guys like it anyway! :3 Oh, and about the fight scene…Since there are so many more people on the good team than the bad team, the bad guys get an automatic power up. :P *hands 1-up mushrooms to the bad guys* This is what the good guys get for being so prolific! XD Well, enjoy the chapter!

Edit: Reading this chapter over again, I'm not as sure if the fight scene is as good as I was going for… D: Or maybe it's just me getting all worried over nothing. o_o; Oh well, either way, you've been warned! Also, please take into account that I was absolutely exhausted when writing these, so yeah…beware the grammar, as usual… ^^;

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam and Blake. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole, Gina, and Granny. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awsomedacious1 owns Lurker. A Little Help Here owns Spectre. Butters321 owns Echo. Golden-Gargoyle owns Cat.

Everyone bow down to Super Disclaimer! XD

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Morning yet again. This time, the watch, who had been Sam, had managed to stay awake the whole night, but as soon as someone else woke up, he lay down straight away, getting some well deserved sleep. Once everyone had woken up, they all gathered towards the center of their new area, talking in hushed tones so not to wake Sam.

"We can move again once Sam wakes up," Smoker said quietly. "For now, let's just stay here and talk strategy or something."

"Still, I don't know how we're going to beat those guys," Calli said, getting her thoughtful face on. "I mean, they set traps for us at every turn, and they have a lot of advantages on their side, too. Not to mention that they might send us double agents posing as our friends!"

"Yeah, imagine that," Clawer said, surprising everyone by talking. He rarely talked early in the morning, after all. Still, he didn't say anything else, and seemed grumpy for some reason. Maybe he was just tired. Everyone was tired, after all.

"Sorry for getting all of you wrapped up in this," Taunter said, turning to the group's newest additions. "Now we've made you become targets, too."

"Hey, don't worry, we're happy to help," Cat smiled.

"Well, anyway, any ideas, everyone?" Smoker asked.

"Do you know our enemies' weaknesses?" Alan asked contemplatively. Everyone seemed to pause and think for a second. Eric, out of all of them, knew something. And he wanted to help. That would help him be accepted.

"Well, I know that Cole often jumps out into battle without thinking," he said, addressing the whole group as he spoke. "If you can catch him in the act, you might be able to beat him…" Eric trailed off as he saw everyone staring at him. "Wh-What?" Another pause.

"We never told you Cole's name," Hunter said what everyone had on their minds.

"I knew it!" Clawer stood up off the ground. "He's a spy!"

…...

"So, Eric still isn't back, huh? Weeeird," Noir laughed to himself, looking around the base. "I _wonder_ why."

"Just give him a little more time," Tai replied. "I mean, he might have gotten lost…or, maybe he got caught, or something…"

"Well, I'm tired of waiting," Cole said, approaching the exit and wringing his fingers together to crack his knuckles. "Tai, where did Eric go?"

"Somewhere across town," Tai answered quickly. "I don't really know where."

"Alright then, Tai, you're going to stay here while we go look for Eric. When we find him, I need to discuss the issue of _loyalty _with him. Okay people, we're moving out, let's go!"

"Hang on-!" Tai tried to stop the group as they left, but nobody seemed very interested in listening to him. "What do you mean discuss loyalty? What are you doing to do?"

"Oh…just _talk_ for a while…you know…" Cole's smirked betrayed his true thoughts.

"You're not going to hurt him, right?"

"What would give you that idea?"

"At…at least let me come along with!"

"No, we need someone here to hold down the base. And I was thinking about having a _talk_ with you, too. But I changed my mind. So, yeah. See you later." Cole left the building, the whole group except Tai following him. Tai watched as they rounded a corner and went into an alley, murmuring about something along the way.

"Ohh, this isn't good…" he said to himself, pacing around the floor. "What am I supposed to do? Do I go after them, or stay here?" Tai wanted to go help Eric out, because he knew how Cole got when he was angry. The last Infected that had defied Cole had ended up as an after dinner snack. Tai had even more trouble sleeping after _that_ incident, it had been so terrible. And he didn't want the same sort of thing that had happened to the first deserter happening to Eric. He paced back and forth a few more times, fiddling with the sides of his oversized coat in anxiety. He walked back and forth between the entrance and the back room, trying to decide whether to go or not. He knew that if Cole came back and he wasn't there…that it would mean trouble. Finally, he stopped in the middle of his next pacing, and took a deep breath. This wasn't a matter of being afraid of Cole, it was a matter of friendship. And Tai knew that he had to go help Eric. He pulled his coat on tighter, then started for the door.

"Hang on, Eric, I'm coming…"

…...

"This guy…he's a spy!" Clawer shouted. "I knew it! I was suspicious of him from the start!"

"Whoa, hang on, calm down," Smoker said, also standing up. "We don't know if that's true yet. We can't just draw conclusions."

"It's obvious, though! He's from Cole's gang! And he's just going to wait 'til we're asleep, then get the rest of his team to kill us all!"

"I wouldn't do anything like that!" Eric shook his head quickly. "I hate fighting, so I wouldn't call Cole-"

"So, you admit that you're on his team, then!"

"No! Well…I was, but…not anymore!" Eric stammered out his reasoning, trying to keep himself in favor with everyone. "I came because I wanted to join your team! I couldn't take all of the bad stuff that Cole was doing anymore, and I-"

"Once a murderer, always a murderer," Clawer cut him off. "I'm not letting your or any of your buddies anywhere near here! Leave now…or I swear, I'll kill you where you stand!"

"Clawer, we need more evidence first," Smoker tried to reason with Clawer once again. "You can't just go around killing people that you think are bad."

"I _know_ he's bad," Clawer replied. "And Cole and his gang _aren't _going to kill all my friends again!"

"Again?" Taunter asked, looking over at Clawer as Healer joined him.

"It's true," Healer said, the melodious ring of her usual happiness gone from her voice. "Clawer and I have run into Cole's gang before. Before I met Angel and Alan, and before he met all of you. We were separated. But even before we were separated, we used to live with a whole other group of Infected. And Cole…" Her eyes were tearing up as she spoke their story, "Cole and his damn gang killed every last one of them!"

"Wait…" Eric said slowly. "You…the Infected from the factory?"

"So, you remember us?" Clawer asked, approaching Eric slowly. "Any last words, scumbag?"

"Hang on, I wasn't involved in that! I was-"

"All excuses! Just die already!" Everything was going to hell fast, and Eric didn't know what he should do.

"Wait!" a shout echoed down the alleyway, just as Clawer was poised to strike. Everyone paused, and Tai came running out and over to Eric, clearly out of breath.

"Tai? What are you doing here?" Eric asked.

"I came to warn you…you're in big trouble, Eric!"

"I think that we've got that covered already!" Clawer interrupted. "But oh well, now I've got two of Cole's lackeys here, so, you know what they say: Two birds with one stone."

"Huh? What's happening?" Tai turned to the other side of the area, where the other group was. "I thought that you were going to be friends with them."

"We didn't fall for his tricks," Clawer said before anyone else could respond. "Anyway, I'm just going to finish this up now, if you don't mind-"

"Could you shut up for a second?" Tai shouted over to Clawer. "I mean, sorry, but this is important!" Clawer growled, but obliged, knowing that if he struck at that moment, he would probably get chewed out for it later. Tai turned back to Eric, so that he could give out his warning. "Eric, you've gotta get back to the base! Cole suspects that you've gone traitor, and when he finds you out here with these guys, he's going to seriously kill you!"

"What?" Eric was surprised. "When's he coming?"

"Now, to be exact!" a shout came from the rooftop. Everyone turned upwards to look. It was Cole, his whole team behind him.

"Bro, wake up," Blake said, shaking Sam awake.

"Wha…?" Sam yawned, then looked around and then up, seeing their situation. "What the…oh shit."

"Well, I had a feeling that the two of you had gone traitor," Cole called down to Eric and Tai. "Neither of you ever proved to be very good teammates anyway, did you? Well…if you're going to fight alongside these guys, then you're our enemy!"

"Wait, we're not-" Eric tried to protest.

"Attack!" Cole shouted, cutting him off. Hammer leapt up off of the roof, coming down fast and slamming his fist into the ground. The concrete they were sitting on creaked and buckled, cracking and breaking and making anyone standing up fall over immediately.

"Don't look the blonde kid in the eyes!" Hunter shouted quickly, but it was too late.

"I can't see!" Cat shouted in surprise.

"Me either!" Echo reached out, trying to find someone.

"Hang on, you two," Blake picked up the two girls with his good arm. "I'll get you to a safe place. Everyone, let's go!"

"Leaving so soon?" Cole laughed, making the boxes scattered around the area burst into flame, blocking most of the exits. "We were about to start the fun!"

"Everyone, get ready for some fighting!" Smoker shouted. "Uh…defensive position in the middle! Make a ring around the ones that can't fight, and protect them!" The whole group proceeded towards the center, Hammer closing in on them. But then, he stopped.

"What gives?" Hunter asked. Cole, still not saying anything, grinned. Then, he pointed down towards the ring of Infected in the center of the area.

"Hey, Jojo!" he called. "Look. Horses!"

"Horses?" the Jockey came bounding up to the edge of the building.

"Right there," Cole pointed at their enemies. "Horses, every last one of them."

"Horses!" Jojo screeched among his laughter, using window ledges and awnings to jump down the side of the building.

"Face Humper!" Hunter shouted as Jojo started running at them. As Jojo headed for Smoker, Smoker managed to hit him with what might be called a punch, sending him away. Jojo wasn't phased at all, managing to get on Boomer from behind.

"G-Get him off!" Boomer shouted. And at that moment, Hammer rocked the ground again, causing everyone to fall over.

"Go!" Cole shouted, and the rest of the team either jumped down or took up positions on the roof, ready for battle. The group in the middle was forced to scatter as Hammer ran at them with another devastating blow. Blake stood there to stop him, but then realized with horror that he was still holding Cat and Echo. But he was helped out by Angel, who came in out of nowhere and stopped Hammer in his tracks. As they tried to fight each other off, it became a contest of sheer strength.

"Thanks, man!" Blake called as he ran off to try to find somewhere safe to put the girls while they still couldn't see. The rest of the group was spread out everywhere, and trying to help each other out the best that they could. Ivy and Valery were facing off, both fighting with claws and lightning quick movements, seeming to be nearly evenly matched.

"Hey, Val, I need some help!" That was Sam's voice.

"Sam?" Valery turned in the direction that the voice had come from.

"What?" Sam called. Valery turned again. Sam was all the way on the other side of the area, he and Hunter trying to work together to take down Mauler, whose blades were swinging everywhere and making it difficult to hit him.

"What the-" Valery cut off when she realized that she had been tricked and felt a claw gash from Ivy trail itself down her back. "Ow!" Valery turned on Ivy and continued trying to land a hit on her, hoping that she would be able to do so soon.

"Nice one, Gina!" Cole grinned, getting ready to enter the battle. "Alright!" He jumped down from the roof. "Let it burn!"

"Cole!" came a ferocious shout, and Cole saw Clawer running for him.

"Hey there, long time no see!" Cole laughed, conjuring up some fire. "Let's finish this…or rather, finish you!" The area was now raging with individual battles, everyone helping each other out the best that they could. Mike, looking around to see what he could do, saw that Boomer was still struggling with Jojo, and went to help him.

"Get off him!" Mike shouted, managing to pull Jojo off of Boomer and dodging him as he tried to jump on him. Jojo was left to run around aimlessly, trying to find a "horse" to jump on, the constant threat of him jumping on people adding to the chaos of battle.

"You okay?" Mike asked Boomer as they distanced themselves from the manic Jockey.

"Yeah," Boomer nodded. "Come on, let's go help!" Meanwhile, Jeffry was dodging his way through the huge battlefield, nearly getting hit several times. He was one of the ones who couldn't fight, so he was just trying to stay out of everyone's way. But he froze up when he heard the frenzied laughter of the Jockey running around, and turned to see Jojo coming straight at him.

"Come on!" suddenly, a hand grabbed Jeffry's arm, and he was pulled out of Jojo's path. Jeffry blinked, then looked up at who had pulled him away.

"You okay?" Eric asked, looking over at Jeffry as he and Tai led him away from the battle.

"Hey, let go!" Jeffry pulled his arm away. "I'm not supposed to go with you!"

"Listen, we're really on your side," Tai said quickly, checking around for any crossfire that might hit them. "I promise! We're trying to find a safe place, so do you want to come with?" Jeffry paused, thinking. "Do you?"

"Trying to run, huh?" a voice came out of the shadows, and Lurker stepped out to face them.

"Oh, great," Eric said, taking a step back. "Fall back, quick!"

At that very same moment, Smoker had made his way up onto one of the roofs, knowing that there were enemies to be taken out up there, and he had brought Calli with him for backup. And sure enough, they ran into Shawn almost as soon as they went up there.

"What's that whistle he's got?" Calli asked, pointing.

"Let's not wait to find out!" Smoker said quickly, reaching out with his tongue and grabbing it, taking Shawn by surprise. Shawn, also being a Smoker, tried to grab it back with his own tongue when Smoker tossed it over the edge, but it was no good.

"Bastard!" Shawn shouted at Smoker before he went down to get it. Just as he left, a slow, sarcastic clapping sounded behind Smoker and Calli. The two of them turned around, only to see Noir standing up on a higher roof positioned behind them.

"Not bad, not bad," Noir called to them. "But you won't get rid of _me_ by tossing something over the edge."

"Well…let's go, then," Smoker said, though not really sure how to fight.

"Alright, whatever you say," Noir smiled, then started forward at a shocking speed. Smoker tried to land a few punches, but Noir's small size allowed him to maneuver around and dodge every last one of them.

"Quit…dodging!" Smoker said in exasperation, trying to hit him once more, only to nearly lose his balance along the edge.

"You're slow!" Noir laughed, landing a punch of his own. It didn't hurt that much, but it was fast. Smoker couldn't keep up with this pace. Noir was sure that he was going to win here. He had completely expected this. What he didn't expect was for someone to grab him from behind. He realized with annoyance that he had totally forgotten about the girl.

"Hey! Let go!" he shouted, trying to break free or turn his head around to blind Calli, but she wouldn't let him.

"So, you said that we wouldn't beat you by tossing something over the edge?" Calli asked, keeping a tight hold on him. "How about this, then?" Calli heaved him up, and over the edge of the building. As Noir fell, he managed to grab onto the fabric of an old and sagging awning, stopping himself mid fall, but it slipped out of his hands, and he fell again, landing right on top of a very surprised Mauler. Noir's hat, which had blown off his head, fell down to the ground, flopping down next to them. Neither of them seemed to be seriously hurt, though, since the building had only been two stories, and because Noir had managed to break his fall a bit with both the awning and landing on Mauler.

"Well, that makes things easier!" Sam grinned. Mauler pushed Noir off, and the two of them got up, Noir picking up his hat and dusting it off.

"Bitch!" Noir shouted up to Calli, who was sticking her tongue out at him. "I'll freaking kill you for that!"

"Come on and try, then!" Calli shouted to him, then disappearing as she and Smoker descended from the building.

"Oh, trust me, you'll regret that you said that," Noir muttered, heading over to where they would come down. As Mauler righted himself completely, he swung one of his blades out, nearly hitting Hunter, who thought that Mauler had still been catching his balance. The slicing blade was so close to hitting him that the tip of his hood was sliced right off.

"Hey!" Hunter shouted, making sure that the remaining part of the hood covered his face, brown hair sticking out of the missing part. "This was my favorite hoodie!"

"No time for that now!" Sam said quickly. "Here he comes!" But suddenly, there was a scream and _two_ sets of laughter.

"Don't let him face hump meee!" Taunter was screaming, laughing all the way, as she ran away from Jojo, who was right on her tail.

"Sam, you take care of this guy, I've gotta go help Taunter," Hunter said quickly, leaving Sam by himself to deal with Mauler.

"Hey!" Sam shouted, but was relieved when Blake suddenly joined him, having found somewhere safe to put the two temporarily blinded girls. "Alright, bro, let's take him down!"

Taunter had been running away from Jojo for quite a while when Hunter suddenly came barreling in, pushing Jojo away and growling at him.

"I hate Jockeys!" Hunter shouted as he pounced out at him. Jojo, seeing that he was in immediate danger, quickly retreated over where his nearest teammate, Ivy, was fighting.

"Ivy, help!" Jojo called, running over to her.

"Jojo, get off!" Ivy said in dismay as the Jockey clung to her.

"Two for one package, huh?" Hunter shouted as he pounced again, this time tackling both Ivy and Jojo to the ground in one jump.

"Hunter?" Valery said in surprise, then went to attack Ivy again.

"Eek!" Ivy quickly rolled out of the way of Valery's attack, then stood up. "Oh, ew! Now my hair's all dirty!"

"You've got bigger problems than that," Valery said, holding out a clawed hand. Taunter took a spot near Valery, ready to back her up if she had to. Just as Hunter was about to start clawing Jojo, he was pushed off, and Jojo retreated off into a side alley. Hunter turned to Ivy as well, who saw that she was outnumbered.

"I'll…I'll remember this!" she shouted, also running away into the alley that Jojo had gone into, knowing that she couldn't win at a three vs. one match.

At that moment, Angel and Hammer were still locked in struggle at the middle of the field, neither of them yielding even a little bit. Both of them were strong. Very strong, at that. It was at that moment that the battle between Blake, Sam, and Mauler began moving over in their direction, and Sam got an idea. Sam positioned himself directly in front of Hammer's leg as Mauler began his swing, then jumped out of the way. The missed slash cut a gash across Hammer's leg, blood spurting out of it like water out of a sprinkler, and Hammer's strength gave in immediately, Angel pushing him away and throwing him a few yards. Hammer was too busy yelling out in pain to shout at Mauler, so Mauler turned on the three others.

"Nice maneuver," Mauler said to them, about to attack again, but just then, Valery, Hunter, and Taunter ran over, ready to help. Mauler knew that he was outnumbered. "D…Damn!" He quickly moved away, pulling Hammer up onto his shoulder the best he could, then moving towards the one retreat alley, knowing that Mauler would need medical attention soon, or else he could be seriously hurt from the blood loss. "Don't think that you've won just yet!"

"You guys okay?" Sam asked the group that Hunter had just brought over.

"Yeah, we're fine," Valery nodded. "You?"

"Doing good," Blake nodded.

"Hey, we're ready to help!" Echo called, running over along with Cat. "We can see now, so we'll help you guys out."

"Sounds good," Hunter nodded. "Let's go."

Alan was busy trying to fire shots up Gina, who was up on the roof, and he was being backed up by Spectre, who was making sure that no one attacked them from the ground while Alan was aiming at the roof. Gina was hiding behind some good cover, and wasn't coming out anytime soon. Shawn had been looking at them from afar, trying to decide whether to attack or not, but instead decided to join Gina behind her cover first. Alan moved to a new piece of cover for himself, Spectre following, trying to get a better viewpoint of Gina, but she moved as well, keeping herself out of range as a target. But Alan wasn't going to give up just yet.

…...

"You're weaklings!" Lurker said, punching Eric in the stomach again. Eric backed up, coughing severely, the wind having been knocked out of him.

"Quit it! Leave us alone!" Tai shouted at Lurker, who really had the advantage, being the only one there who knew how to fight. Lurker merely chuckled a bit, then approached to attack again. Tai, Eric, and Jeffry were backed up against a wall, with a no real available exits.

"I'm gonna have to fuse," Tai said quickly, grabbing the vial of liquid that hung around his neck. "Hang in there, guys!"

"Fuse?" Jeffry asked as Tai uncorked the vial and drank the red liquid that was inside. Tai's whole body seemed to pulse a bit, his head twitched once, and he blinked a few times. Then, he did what Jeffry had only seen Hunter and Sam do: He pounced, landing right on top of Lurker. As if on instinct, he started throwing punches, one after the other, again and again.

"Did he just turn into a Hunter or something?" Jeffry asked Eric in surprise. "No one else should have enough leg muscles to do that!"

"It's hard to explain," Eric said. Lurker, now with a bloodied nose, pushed Tai off, standing up.

"You know that you're only that strong when you drink that stuff, brat!" Lurker growled. "Fine, I'll go for now, but next time…just you wait and see…" Lurker gave them a threatening look, then went back into the shadows. The other three waited a moment, and he didn't return, so they figured that they could calm down a bit.

"Ugh, I hate doing that," Tai groaned. "I feel like crap now."

"What did you do, though?" Jeffry asked.

"Long story," Tai said, brushing some hair out of his face and somehow looking a lot more tired than before.

"Come on, let's go find somewhere else to hide," Eric said, leading the way out of the enclosed space. But as they walked outside, they realized that the fighting was mostly over, so they headed towards the group that was coming together in the center.

Cole, though still involved in his fight with Clawer, realized something: Most of his teammates were gone. Run away, most likely.

"Oh, come on, what does a guy have to do to get some decent team members around here?" Cole shouted, jumping away from Clawer and climbing up to the roof where Gina was, quickly getting behind some cover as Alan reloaded.

"Gina, why is everyone gone?" Cole shouted to her.

"Everyone's gone?" she called back, not having noticed.

"Yeah, they've left us here!" Cole said quickly. "I say we get out of here. There's no way we'll win now."

"Right, let's go," Gina agreed, and the two of them escaped quickly down the other side of the building.

"When I find those guys, they're as good as mincemeat!" Cole growled as he and Gina retreated. "Just you wait…"

…...

"We…we did it!" Taunter shouted, a grin spreading across her face. "We won! We won!" Cheers broke out among the group as the whole team came together in the center.

"Well…we didn't totally win…but we came pretty close," Valery added. "See, this shows that we _can_ beat them. We _do _have a chance."

"Great job, guys!" Boomer smiled. "I'm so proud of everyone, you all did great!"

"That'll teach them what happens when you mess with us!" Hunter grinned. "So, who did everyone fight…or should I say, beat? Me and Val beat that black haired girl and the crazy face humper. How about you guys?"

"We took out the mummy dude and the buff guy," Sam said, indicating himself, his brother, and Angel.

"I was fighting Cole, but he got away…" Clawer grumbled, joining the group.

"Gina got away, too," Alan added, also coming over.

"Well, they all got away," Mike shrugged.

"Uhh…if it counts, I took care of Lurker!" came a voice, and everyone turned to see Tai, Eric, and Jeffry walking over.

"Jeffry!" Taunter shouted in worry. "They're on the bad side!"

"They're not bad," Jeffry called over to the rest of the group. "Tai protected me and Eric from that Lurker guy. He wouldn't have helped _me_ if he was bad."

"He helped you?" Boomer asked in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah," Jeffry affirmed.

"I knew that you couldn't be all bad!" Taunter smiled, patting Tai on the back. "Thanks!"

"Hehe, thanks," Tai gave a bit of a smile, tired though he was. "Trust me, Eric and I don't want to hurt you guys. We're tired of following Cole, and we want to join your team."

"Well, if you helped Jeffry, we _know_ that you can't be bad," Sam nodded. "So, I think that it's okay. What do you guys think?" A chorus of agreements came up into the air. That pretty much decided it. They were a part of the team now.

"Great. Just great," Clawer growled too quietly for anyone to hear besides Healer, who was next to him. She was the only one who noticed when he walked away without a word, and she followed him.

"So, yeah…I beat Lurker…kinda," Tai shrugged. "So yeah, he's gone."

"Oh, and I think I saw Shawn running away on our way over here," Eric added.

"Well, that's all of 'em, right?" Sam asked, trying to think about how many members there were on Cole's team. "We got rid of all of them, right? I mean, we did name all of them…"

"Wait…" Hunter said slowly, sudden realization and tension marking his voice. "What about that Noir kid?" And at the moment, a scream pierced the air. Taunter looked around the group quickly.

"And Calli and Smoker aren't here!" she said in alarm.

"That scream came from this way, let's go!" Blake shouted, heading in the direction that the cry had come from. The whole group followed him, knowing that Calli and Smoker must have been in some sort of trouble. They could only hope…hope that they would get there in time.

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Dun dun dun DUUUUUN! So dramatic lol. XD If I forgot your character in the fight scene, I am so super sorry! ;_; There are just so many characters…so it's hard to keep track of them all, sometimes… ^^; Ahh, but anyway…listening to fast paced battle music really helped me write this! X3 Lol but I ended up writing it by listening to the rock version of Carol of the Bells, by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra…you know, the version with the electric guitars and such along with the piano and violins? :3 It's awesome! X3 Lol actually, it's just the first song that's good for writing fight scenes that I came across while searching my itunes. I only have my itunes right now cause there's no internet anywhere except Starbucks! Oh, and did anyone actually expect the good guys to somehow win that fight? I didn't ._. Even while I was in the middle of writing it, I didn't expect them to win…I was sorta making it up as I went along, after all! XD Well, anyway, since I already know what's going to happen next chapter, I've just got questions that don't impact the contents of the next chapter. XD Here we go! :3

For the good guys: If your character could talk to anyone else on their team, and compliment them on something they did in the battle, what would they say, and who would they say it to?

For the bad guys: Lol. Who does your character blame for your team's loss? XD

And now, a question for all the readers: Okey dokey, I bet that at least one of you is wondering about Tai's special ability! :o Well, there is one person who knows what it is already… :3 You know who you are! XD *coughcoughTWILIGHTcoughcough* Er, ahem, yeah, better get that cough fixed… XD But anyway, for people who don't know it, any guesses as to what it is? Hmmm? And no asking Twilight to tell you, cause that's cheating :3


	9. Lurking Peril

Edit: Well…this chapter was written on day two of vacation hell. o_o; Okay, so maybe it wasn't _hell_…but yeah…it was pretty bad… -_-; Anyway, I gotta quit complaining about this! D: And no, the title of the chapter isn't a reference to Lurker. XD I just couldn't find a cool enough synonym… XD

Lol you've never seen updates THIS fast before! I'm gonna write as many of these as I can while I'm on vacation! X3 I'm done with three so far, and I've still got three days left! :3 Though it's kinda hard to write stuff when it's constantly: *clears throat and gets on southern accent* "Misha! Misha, come play with us! Come play with us! Let's go play! Come on, come on, let's go play! Wanna go in the pool? No, let's go upstairs! Let's do dress up! Bla-dee-bla-bla." ._. I mean, sure they're cute…but still…I need a break sometime… ^^; Anyway, now is the shocking conclusion to the cliff hanger of last chapter! Lol I bet that you guys are glad that you didn't have to wait for this. XD Also, let me establish that any long passages that are all in italics are flashbacks. And to those who don't know who italics are, it's when the words are all slanted to the side. XD Anyway, enjoy! :3

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam and Blake. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole, Gina, and Granny. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awsomedacious1 owns Lurker. A Little Help Here owns Spectre. Butters321 owns Echo. Golden-Gargoyle owns Cat.

Random note: You never really know how delicious strawberry pie is 'til you try it. :P I had PUNCH N' PAI! Lol. Anyone who gets that reference gets a cookie.

Another random note: And now, after proofreading this chapter, I realize that this chapter has more cursing in it in one chapter than the entire rest of the story! Woohoo! 8D

Edit: Ah, yes, the cursing. XD I'm not responsible…or, well, yeah, I sorta am…but…yeah. It's rated T for a reason, people! XD

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The group raced into the alley, looking around hurriedly, trying to find the source of the scream that they had heard.

"Calli? Smoker? Where are you?" Taunter shouted.

"Over here!" came a shaky response. That was Calli. The team ran into the area that they had heard Calli from, and everyone stopped when they saw the scene. Smoker was on the ground, knocked out, and with a bloody gash through his side. Calli was by him, and obviously shaken up by whatever had happened. There were tears in her eyes.

"Holy…What happened?" Hunter said, running over.

"It was terrible!" Calli said, trying to keep herself from crying. "I mean…I never would have expected that…ohh…"

…...

_Calli and Smoker had just gotten down from the roof, both of them feeling pretty good about their progress._

"_Thanks for helping me out back there, Calli," Smoker smiled at her. "I'm pretty sure that I would've been the one falling off the roof if you hadn't been there."_

"_No problem," Calli returned his smile with a grin of her own. "I don't think that we're going to have to worry about him any more after this."_

"_Is that really what you think?" came the question that neither of them had expected. And much to their alarm, Noir was walking into the area as well, having found a path there from the main battlefield. The sounds of battle were still echoing around the walls, shouting and the noise of blows, and yet Calli and Smoker couldn't go help their friends. They had to deal with Noir first._

"_Buzz off!" Calli said to him quickly. "We've got stuff to do!"_

"_I don't really take kindly to people who throw me off roofs, you know," Noir replied. "And when I said that I would kill you for it, I was serious."_

"_You? Kill anyone? I can't see it."_

"_Try me."_

"_Alright, listen," Smoker stepped in between the two of them. "We've got to go help out our friends. Don't you need to do the same?"_

"_Me? Friends with them? Don't make me laugh!" Noir cracked a bit of a smile. "I'm my only friend. I'm not about to trust anyone else with that. Now, move aside. I've got some business to take care of." There was long pause, Smoker steeling himself._

"_What if I don't want to move?" he asked. Noir seemed a bit surprised by this, but then smirked again._

"_Aw, how disgustingly adorable. A knight in shining armor, huh?" Noir shook his head, laughing a bit to himself. "What is she, your girlfriend or something?"_

"_No, but I'm not about to let you hurt her."_

"_Y-You tell him, Smoker!" Calli shouted, trying to hide the fact that she was blushing. _

"_Well…it's either one of you or both of you," Noir told them. "Either way, someone's going to die here today, and it's not going to be me."_

"_I'm not usually one for violence…but if I have to fight, I will," Smoker said resolutely. "Even though I don't know how. I will."_

"_You didn't seem to do too well with that before."_

"_So?"_

"_Yeah, Smoker could beat you with both hands tied behind his back! And with both of us together, you don't stand a chance!" Calli said to Noir, sticking out her tongue at him once again, then smiling smugly at him. "I mean, it's two against one! What are you gonna do?"_

"_Hm…I don't know," Noir said, using a mock thoughtful voice. "Maybe…even the odds?" And without warning, Noir's eyes flashed. Calli's vision went completely dark. _

"_Calli, look out!" that was Smoker. Calli felt someone pushing her away, and she tripped over something and fell down onto her back. _

"_Ow!" she cringed, sitting up and rubbing her back. Then, she remembered. They weren't out of the woods yet. "Smoker, can you see?"_

"_Yeah, I was looking at his feet!" Smoker called back. Calli could hear what sounded like the noises of a scuffle, but she couldn't tell what was happening at all. And that made her more nervous than ever before. Just not being able to see, and not being able to help. And suddenly, there was a sound of splintering wood, and the noise of something being swung through the air at a fast speed. One of them was using a weapon, maybe having torn some wood off of one of the crates sitting around. Then, Calli heard the wood fall to the ground. More scuffling sounds, then the noise of the wood scraping on the ground as it was picked up. And lastly, the sound of ripping fabric, a grunt of pain, then a thump. _

"_Smoker?" Calli shouted, reaching out with her hands, trying to figure out what had happened. _

"_Try again." That voice. It was Noir. Which means that Smoker was the one who had fallen. _

"_What did you do, you bastard?" Calli screamed, the sounds of the others fighting in the other area ringing in her ears as she backed up a bit. "What did you do to him?" Noir wasn't saying anything…Had he left? No…he was still there…_

"_You know, this might be more suitable," Noir finally spoke. "I mean, sure I'd want to kill you for tossing me off a roof, but I think that me getting rid of your boyfriend there is much more fitting."_

"_You didn't get rid of him!"_

"_Oh really?"_

"_Yeah, really!"_

"_Well, we'll just see what you think about it when you can see again. See ya." The sound of footsteps came to Calli's ears. Noir was leaving. _

"_Smoker? Smoker?" Calli reached blindly around the area until her hand brushed against Smoker's jeans. She tried higher up, and found his shoulder, shaking him a bit. "Smoker, are you okay?"_

"_Calli, did he hurt you?" Smoker's voice was quiet. That was a bad sign. _

"_No, I'm fine, but what about you?"_

"_Just don't look when you can see again, okay? Just go get Healer once you can see, but don't look."_

"_What do you mean, don't look? What did he do?"_

"_It's nothing…I'm serious…Don't worry, I'm fine…" Smoker trailed off. Calli waited for him to speak again, but he didn't. _

"_Smoker?" she said, scared now. "Smoker? Can you hear me?" Then, her vision returned to her. She found herself sitting next to Smoker, who was lying on the ground, his shirt stained dark red, and his good eye closed. And that was when she screamed. _

…_..._

The whole group was silent.

"And that's what happened," Calli finished. "And I've got no clue what that guy did to Smoker…so…oh, forget it! Where's Healer?" Everyone looked around, but Healer was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey…Healer and Clawer are gone…" Mike said, also looking around with the rest of the group. "But they were just right behind us…"

"No way!" Calli stood up quickly, running back to where the battlefield had been and glancing around quickly. "Healer? Healer, where are you? We really need you right now! Healer!" No one came. There was no sign of Healer, or Clawer, for that matter. Calli jogged back to where everyone else was, returning to Smoker's side. "What are we gonna do…?"

"Hey!" Eric said suddenly. "I still have those med kits from before in my backpack!" He ran out into the main area, searching for his discarded bag. He found it, strewn against a wall and partially open. And when he looked inside, the med kits were gone. There was nothing there. "Oh no…someone must've taken them during the fight…" Still, he brought the backpack along when he returned, knowing that they would need as much travel storage as they could get.

"Did you find them?" Taunter asked when he got back.

"No, someone took them out of my bag," he said, shaking his head.

"This is bad…" Blake said, his face grim. "If we don't patch that up right now, he's going to be in big trouble."

"Does anyone here have any medical experience?" Boomer looked out upon the whole group. "Does anyone remember anything medical from before the infection?

"I can do bandages, at the very least…" Alan offered up.

"I can, too," Spectre added, saying his first spoken words of the day.

"Alright, let's go find some bandages, then. I think that there were some in the supplies we saved from the alley," Boomer walked out into the main area, Spectre and Alan following.

"Is it even safe to move Smoker around, now?" Echo asked.

"I don't think so…" Sam replied. "We might have to stay here until he gets better enough to walk around."

"Geez, this would be going so much faster if Healer were here," Hunter grumbled. "Where did she and Clawer go, anyways?"

"There's nothing we can do about it now, though," Boomer said, returning with Alan and Spectre, having found some bandages. "We can help Smoker the best we can, but there's nothing we can do about Healer not being here. So for now, let's just try to get him bandaged up, and hope for the best. Because that's all we can do…just hope."

…...

Cole's team had converged back at their base. Everyone except for Cole, Gina, and Noir were in attendance. Most of them were sitting inside the destroyed building's core, while Jojo was off inside one of the nearby alleys.

"Heh, I got some med kits out of someone's bag," Shawn smirked, holding up Eric's three med kits, then tossing them aside on the ground, to be used later. "They won't be missing them…"

"I can't believe we lost to those losers!" Ivy sighed.

"Hm…" no one could really tell what Hammer was thinking. "At least this will show Cole that he isn't invincible. And neither are we."

"Hey…" Shawn said, turning to Lurker, "why's your nose bleeding?"

"Don't even ask," Lurker said quickly, not wanting to get into it. It was then that they saw Cole and Gina approaching the building. And Cole looked absolutely pissed.

"Here comes trouble," Ivy sighed again, looking the other way. It took Cole and Gina a moment to get over there, and as soon as they entered, Gina sat down on a broken section of wall by the door.

"Well," Cole said, coming into the center of the room and looking over the team. "You've all surprised me today. I never thought that you could be such a bunch of…IDIOTS!" Cole's whole body blazed up into flames for a moment in his rage, then the flames died down a second later, somehow having not affected him nor any clothes he wore in any way. "I mean, seriously! Those guys are total weaklings, and you all lost! No, wait, even worse, you ran away! Who runs away from Infected like THAT?"

"Hey, don't blame us, we were outnumbered," Ivy said, seemingly trying to defend herself more than everyone else.

"That doesn't mean anything! We're outnumbered all the time, and still win! And this time, we were fighting Infected that don't even know how to fight! Five of them practically count as one! And you all just ran away, just like that!" Cole was totally incensed by now, and nobody was saying anything. They knew what happened when anyone talked to Cole when he was like this: Instant burning.

"I thought that I could at least depend on you guys to take out wimps like that, but NO! Apparently not! You're all lucky that I don't burn you on the spot, right here, right now! Oh yeah, and I can't forget those two traitors…they're really in for it when I catch them…"

"Maybe we could just try again later?" Shawn asked, making sure not to be speaking directly to Cole.

"We can't, Hammer is injured too badly for that," Mauler replied. "We'll have to wait for his injury to heal. I accidentally hit him."

"See, this is _just_ what I'm talking about! You're all just incompetent, idiotic, unreliable…! You fucking dumbasses! I'll fucking kill someone if this doesn't work out! Shit! Fucking god damn shit!" Cole continued his way through the base, and out the back door, a string of profanities escaping his mouth as he left, setting anything flammable he found along the way up in flames, needing to blow off some steam. The whole team was silent for a second, looks and shrugs being exchanged between a few of them. It was then that Noir arrived.

"Was that Cole just now cussing you out?" he asked as he entered. "I could hear him all the way across the street."

"Well, if you noticed all of the flaming stuff back there, I'd think that you'd know," Ivy said to him.

"Where have _you_ been all this time anyway?" Shawn asked. "You were supposed to be helping us fight!"

"Wasn't I?" Noir tossed what he had been carrying onto the ground. It clattered to the floor, and everyone looked at it. It was a thin, but sturdy, piece of wood, with one end splintering up into sharp and hazardous points. And the splintering side was doused in dark crimson. "I think that I've done _my_ share. Not that I could say the same for all of you."

"Stop singing your own praises," Gina said coldly, not even looking at him. "You weren't around to help the rest of us, and now we have to take the heat for losing. You will, too."

"Well, who's fault is that?" Noir asked her. "Not _mine_. Who ran away first, anyway?" He didn't get a response. "Hey, I'm talking here! Who ran away first?"

"Wouldn't that be you, since you left the battlefield first?" Mauler questioned.

"That…that doesn't mean anything! I was still fighting!"

"But you admit that you were the first to leave?"

"I…I wasn't…shut up! Geez, you adults are even stupider than I thought! I did more than all of you put together in that fight!"

"Well, if you did so great, why don't you go brag to Cole about it?" Shawn asked.

"What, you think I've got a death wish?" Noir answered. "Besides I'd be more worried about yourselves if I were you."

"He'll be mad at you, too, you know. And we're all gonna let him know that you were the first to leave. Seriously, just try to badmouth us anymore, and you're gonna be in deep shit, kid."

"Stop talking down to me like that."

"What do you mean? Talking to you like you're _less important_? Seems fine to me."

"I'm warning you!"

"Oh, boohoo, I'm Noir and I'm a whiney kid who _isn't_ the best person in the world! Boohoo!" Shawn said in a mocking tone.

"You…!" Noir was about to try to strike out at Shawn when Mauler grabbed his shoulder. "_What?_"

"We can't afford to fight among ourselves," Mauler told him. "Calm down or leave."

"You can't tell me what to do!" Noir pulled his shoulder away, glaring up at Mauler.

"Seriously, just go away," Ivy came into the conversation as well.

"Yeah, no one wants you here or needs to hear your constant bitching anymore," Gina added.

"Well…well…" Noir wasn't even sure what to say back to that. "Fine! I'll go! Screw you guys!" He started for the door, but then stopped, picking up the piece of wood. He looked at it for a second, then whirled around, tossing it right at Shawn's head. Shawn ducked just in time to dodge it, and it went skittering across the ground after it fell. Noir growled in exasperation and frustration, then stormed out of the remains of the entrance to the building. "You'll be sorry that I'm gone! You'll see!" And with that, he was gone, into an alley.

"Well, that solves some of our problems," Ivy gave a small smile.

"Still, this might turn out bad," Hammer sighed. "I just can't _wait_ to see what Cole thinks about this…"

…...

"Calli?" Taunter called, looking around the corner and into an adjacent alley. "How come you're in here?"

"I just wanted some time to myself, I guess," Calli replied quietly.

"Are you still upset over what happened?" Taunter came and sat down next to her.

"I'm just really worried about Smoker. He was bleeding all over the place…"

"Don't worry. They bandaged him up, and he's sleeping now. We don't know why he was knocked out, though. Are you sure that you only heard Noir hit him once?"

"Yeah, I'm sure…what are we going to do if Smoker isn't going to be okay?"

"Huh? Of course he'll be okay! We're all taking care of him, after all!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Now, it's almost time to get ready to camp down for the night. Why don't you come out with the rest of us?"

"Is all the blood gone?"

"Yup."

"Okay, I'll come out."

"Alright, let's go," Taunter stood up, Calli following suit. "We've got to be ready for tomorrow. We've got some serious planning to do."

…...

"Clawer, are you sure this is okay?" Healer asked as she and Clawer walked down the street. "I mean, what if someone got hurt? They'll need me…"

"No one got hurt. We saw them, remember?" Clawer asked. "But besides that, they've got two of Cole's lackeys on the team now. Obviously they're not going to listen to us when we say that they're bad news."

"Yeah…everyone is in danger now…"

"Which is why we need to go get rid of Cole and his team while they're all still recovering. This is our only chance to protect our new friends and avenge our old ones. I'm not going to let something like that happen again…never."

"…I miss them."

"Me too…but we can't stop now. As long as we're here, we can go fight Cole and his gang without any of our friends being in danger. We're going to go get rid of everyone at Cole's base, then take out those two spies back with our group."

"Yeah. But we're going to be outnumbered…is that really okay?"

"No, not really…but one things for sure. I'm making sure that Cole is dead…even if it means that I have to risk everything. He's going down."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

OH, THE DRAMA. Yesh, Noir is a jerk and kind of a whiney baby, but oh well. :P Lol yet another dramatic ending…And omg! What's gonna happen to Smoker? Well, I already know…but I won't tell you! Bwahahahaha! XD Though, at the rate that I'm writing these chapters, you'll probably find out pretty soon… :3 Anyway, question time!

For the good guys: OMG how are you going to help Smoker? D:

For the bad guys (except Cole XD): Do you think that Cole is going to be really super duper pissed at everyone and everything?

For Cole: Are you really super duper pissed at everyone and everything? XD

For the readers in general: Thoughts on this chapter? And also, are any of you seriously against character death? O_O Lol not like I'm saying anyone's gonna die… XD I was just asking…if you were okay with it… XD Oh, but don't worry! :D If it DID happen, which I'm not necessarily saying it will, I could only do it to my own characters :o I just wanna know your opinion on the whole idea of it :o


	10. New Assets

Edit: Er…yeah…nothing much else to say. XD

One more day left of the land of toddlers that burst into tears if they don't get their Dr. Pepper! :D Lol. Seriously. Six breakdowns in two days. I'm gonna need to sleep for like…thirty hours when I get home. XD Well, anyway, I'm on day three right now, and still somehow alive…I actually almost passed out today. o_o; But on the bright side, I found a perfect dress for the homecoming dance while shopping today! ^^ But anyway, enough of my rambling, let's get going. :P

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam and Blake. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole, Gina, and Granny. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awsomedacious1 owns Lurker. A Little Help Here owns Spectre. Butters321 owns Echo. Golden-Gargoyle owns Cat.

Random note: Kiddy Land is a lie! Aaaagh! There is no Kiddy Land in Savannah! D: I checked! o_o; Though, there is a Kiddy Land in Illinois…and there's one in Tokyo… o_o; Man, Ellis is gonna be heartbroken. :/

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Once again, morning came, and the group from the alley was happier to see the morning light than they ever had been before. Yesterday had been a massive crisis, especially since Smoker had been hurt so badly. He still hadn't woken up, and neither Alan nor Spectre could figure out why. Apparently, he should have woken up by then, since he had only a flesh wound, and no other severe damage. A few of them suspected that Noir might have poisoned him to make up for any lost ground, and most of the others assumed that they must be correct in that guess. And on top of all that, Clawer and Healer still hadn't returned. That meant that they were down two people, and even though Tai and Eric made up for that in terms of head count, both Clawer and Healer had been vital members of the team, Healer in particular. The only thing that the team could be happy about was that Cole's gang was still recovering, and hadn't made a move again since their previous attack. Now, the group from the alley would be able to finally get some rest. After all, Smoker was still in no condition to be moved, so they would all be staying put for the day. Most of the group were in the central area, while a few of them were off in the side area watching over Smoker. He was still only sleeping, apparently, but it was better to keep an eye on him.

"So…what should we do today?" Mike asked. "Strategize? Rest? Just talk?"

"I say that we figure out how to help Smoker," Calli said, not looking like she was about to change her mind.

"But Calli, we've tried everything we can," Boomer told her. "Nobody has any idea why he isn't waking up."

"I know one person who does."

"Who?"

"That Noir guy. _He_ knows."

"Yeah, but it's not like we can just go grab him and bring him here," Sam frowned. "I mean, isn't he one of the more important members of Cole's team?"

"Yeah, he's one of the top three, I think," Eric nodded.

"Exactly. So, he'd be with the rest of the team. And even if they've been beat up a bit, we can't just go running in there, right?"

"Yeah. Bad idea," Hunter agreed.

"But there's no way of telling whether he'd be with his team or not!" Calli continued on with what she wanted to do. "I just wanna go find him and bring him back here! I mean, not only could he tell us how to make an antidote for Smoker, but he would count as a hostage thingie, right? That'd be good for us!"

"They don't seem like the kind of team who would totally give up the fight just because one of their members got caught," Blake answered her. "And I doubt that Noir would talk that easily. From what you told us, he was pretty angry."

"Yeah…but we could beat him up a bit, right? I mean, he sure beat Smoker up! He deserves it!"

"But Calli, Noir is a long range fighter," Taunter reminded her. "If we even tried to get near him, he'd probably just blind us all and then go get the rest of his team to finish us off."

"Not if we came at him from behind…" Calli mumbled, pouting. "Tai, Eric, you guys knew him from being on the team right? Does he have any weak points?"

"Hm…weak points?" Tai asked, looking like he was thinking it over. "I dunno. I don't think he has any…"

"Though he did spaz out every time no one paid attention to him," Eric said. "But that doesn't really count, I guess."

"Yeah, I mean, we didn't learn much about him. He was always either keeping to himself or being sarcastic. He never said anything about himself."

"Aw, man!" Calli said, annoyed. "How are we ever going to know what's wrong with Smoker if he doesn't tell us?"

"Well, when he did it to me, I wasn't paralyzed for that long," Taunter shrugged. "Maybe Smoker will go back to normal in a few minutes."

"But you were conscious when that happened," Boomer contradicted her. "Smoker is asleep. Or at least, that's what it looks like."

"He'll wake up sometime. Don't worry, Calli."

"Hrm…" Calli fell quiet, and a silence descended over the group. Then, Calli stood. "I've gotta go use the bathroom. Be right back." She turned, then walked into an alley.

"Still…what Calli said does kind of make sense," Mike said after a moment. "We'll need some sort of strategy to fight off Cole's team, right? We can't just keep running forever."

"Well, how should we start strategizing, then?" Boomer asked.

"Separate them into groups," Alan murmured, then picked up a stray twig from the ground and drawing two large circles in the thin layer of dirt that topped the brick beneath them. "Long range and short range."

"Good idea," Cat nodded. "If we do that, we can know who should fight who!"

"Well, we definitely know that Cole is both short range and long range," Taunter said, starting off the list. "And that Gina girl is long range…and so is Noir."

"And that buff guy and the mummy are short range," Sam added.

"That girl that I was fighting was short range, I think," Valery continued the list further. "And that creepy Jockey is definitely short range."

"I think that I saw a Smoker, with them, too," Boomer said. "So, he's long range, obviously."

"And that one guy who attacks from the shadows, Lurker, is short range," Tai finished off the listing.

"Alright, and next step," Alan placed the stick down onto the ground. "How many of you know how to fight? Raise your hands." A few hands went up, but most definitely not everyone. Hunter, Sam, Blake, Alan, Spectre, Angel, Cat, Echo, and Valery. The was only nine. Nowhere near close to their total number. But then again, there were a few absentees…

"How's he doing?" Boomer asked Jeffry as the small Infected walked over after having checked on Smoker again.

"He's still asleep," Jeffry replied.

"So, wait, you two." Taunter turned to Tai and Eric all of a sudden. "You guys were on Cole's team, yet neither of you know how to fight? I mean, I'm not looking down on you or anything. I don't know how to fight either. But how were you allowed to stay on the team?"

"Well…you know, I've got no idea," Eric shrugged.

"Yeah. Neither of us really _learned_ how to fight…" Tai added.

"Huh? But you were fighting yesterday," Jeffry pointed to Tai. "You pounced on that guy just like Hunter."

"Really?" Hunter said, both he and Sam looking surprised. "Well, you're the first Hunter I've seen without a hoodie."

"Oh, no, I'm not a Hunter," Tai said quickly, not wanting them to get the wrong idea.

"Then how'd you pounce like one?" Jeffry asked him. "I've been wondering about this since yesterday. You said that you 'fused' or something…"

"Is it your special ability?" Valery asked, curious.

"Yeah," Tai replied. "It's sort of hard to explain, though, so it'll take a while to tell you about it."

"We've got time," Blake said. "Plus, this way, we could put you into the battle plan."

"Oh, great…well, I guess I'll tell you," Tai sighed after a moment. "I mean, it's nothing _that_ special. Well, here goes. For starters, my Infected type is called an Imitator. Or at least, that's what people have told me. It's kind of weird how it works, but it's sort of like I take the…uh…what's it called…oh, right. It's like I take the DNA of some other Infected and mix it together with my own. And I do that by drinking a bit of their blood."

"A vampire?" Taunter asked in surprise.

"No…geez, that's what everyone says…"

"Sorry."

"Well, anyway, what it does is that it gives me the abilities of that type of Infected for a little while. But it only works for five minutes or less, and it makes me really tired, and the abilities aren't as good when I use them either, so usually it's pretty useless. And seriously, I don't know how to fight. It's just that when I fuse, instinct sorta takes over and I sort of do it automatically. Yeah. If that makes sense at all."

"Uh…maybe you could explain it again later," Boomer told him.

"See, I told you it was weird!"

"Not weird, just confusing…"

"Well, anyway, we'd better send someone else to look after Smoker for a while," Taunter said, remembering that they in fact had an immobilized person who needed guarding. "Calli, do you want to go?" She was met by silence. "Calli? Huh…she's not back from the bathroom yet."

"Geez, how long does it take to use the bathroom?" Hunter asked.

"I don't know…" Taunter stood up and looked into the alley, not seeing anyone. "Calli? Are you okay in there?" Still no response. "Calli?" Taunter walked further in, going along the whole length of the alley. No one was there. She peeked around the corner, and saw no one on the street. She looked inside whatever doors were there, and still saw no one. "Calli…?" She walked back, then sat back down in the circle, thoroughly confused.

"What's wrong?" Echo asked her, seeing that she was troubled.

"I can't find Calli anywhere," Taunter replied. "It's like she just up and disappeared."

"Uh oh," Cat said suddenly. "Do you think that she went to go find Noir on her own?"

"No…" Boomer shook his head in disbelief. "She's not _that_ stubborn…"

"If Calli is one thing, it's _definitely_ stubborn," Hunter corrected him. "Trust me, I know. And if she's gone, then that means that she went to find Noir."

"Well, we can't just let her go by herself!" Taunter stood up in alarm. "We have to go help her!"

"Hang on, don't freak out," Boomer said, trying to calm her down. "Let's talk this over. We don't want to endanger even _more_ of us."

"Well, what are we supposed to do, then?"

"We need a plan…"

"If you sent only a few people, there would be less of a chance of you getting noticed," Alan told them, offering up even more of his useful advice.

"Okay then, I'm going," Taunter said immediately.

"And chances are, he's back at the base. And I know where it is, so I'll go, too," Eric also stood.

"Me too," Tai stood up as well. "There isn't anyone here that knows that part of town better than us."

"We could afford to send one more…" Boomer said.

"Then, I'll go," Hunter said before anyone else could say anything.

"Why you?" Sam asked.

"Just cause I want to."

"You just don't want to send Taunter alone with two guys you don't know well, do you?"

"Shut up! I'm going!" Hunter started off into the alley. "Come on, guys, if we don't hurry up, Calli's going to be in too big trouble for us to help her at all, and that'll just be annoying."

"Let's go!" Taunter also went into the alley, Eric and Tai following behind.

"Are they going to be okay?" Jeffry asked.

"Let's hope so…" Boomer sighed in response. "Because if they're not, we'll be in an even bigger mess than before."

…...

The group of four walked down the street, wandering around and hoping to catch even the slightest whiff of Calli's scent, but weren't having much luck with their endeavors. Calli was still nowhere to be found.

"She might be at Cole's base already," Eric said, looking worried. "And that would be bad. I remember, back when I was on Cole's team, that every time we lost a fight, he would get really, _really_ angry. And if Calli just walks straight into the middle of that…"

"She'll be roasted for sure," Tai finished the sentence when Eric trailed off. "That's why we should go look for her over there."

"Which way is it from here?" Taunter asked.

"Over here," Eric said, and he and Tai led the way down an alley at the side of the road, Taunter and Hunter following behind. Hunter seemed like something was bothering him, but being in the back, no one noticed the troubled look on his face. They continued on through the twisting and turning maze of alleyways for quite a while, until Tai and Eric stopped at the mouth of one of them.

"It's right around this corner," Tai said, pointing at the gaping mouth out into the open. "If we go out, they'll see us. So, just try peeking around the corner or something." Taunter walked over to the corner, then carefully looked around it, trying to see if Calli was there. She saw a burnt out carcass of what must have once been a building, and sure enough, Cole's team was inside it. But she noticed, to her confusion, that Cole and Noir were _both_ absent. Where could they have gone to? But that meant that if Calli had gone there, she wouldn't have stuck around. Taunter scanned the area one last time, just to make sure, then went back into the alley and faced the other three.

"She's not there," she told them. "And neither is Noir. That means that both of them must be somewhere else in the city. I mean, they could be fighting _right now_ and we wouldn't even know…Let's keep on looking."

…...

Calli was still looking around, and hadn't found Noir yet. But she knew that as soon as she found him, she was going to just beat the crap out of him until he told her what she wanted to know. She wouldn't know what to do with herself if she couldn't help Smoker get better. After all, she felt that it was her fault that he had gotten hurt in the first place. So, she kept on looking and looking and looking…until she finally spotted him. And, what luck! He was all by himself, just sitting on top of a roof, completely unaware that she was there at all. She grinned, seeing that luck was in her favor today. She quickly snuck around quietly to the fire escape, then started climbing up, trying to make as little sound as possible on the metal steps. As she grew near to the top, she stopped, and peeked over the edge of the roof. Noir was facing in the opposite direction, sitting on the roof and mumbling something to himself. And it looked like he still had no idea that she was there. This was the perfect chance for her to strike. And he _was_ going to tell her what she wanted to know. Oh, he was going to tell her, alright…But there was one thing that she didn't take into account. The possibility of people finding her.

"Calli!" came a happy shout from down on the street. It was Taunter, and she was approaching, along with Hunter, Eric, and Tai. Calli looked down at them in utter horror. They weren't supposed to find her yet! Then, she turned back to the roof, and saw that Noir was looking right at her. She quickly averted her eyes, not wanting to be blinded again.

"Guys, I'm kind of busy!" she shouted down to her friends, then climbed onto the roof.

"Busy with what?" she heard Tai's voice from the street as well. "Listen, you can't just go looking for Noir by yourself! It's too dangerous for someone who doesn't know how to fight!"

"Yeah, it's too dangerous, Calli," Noir was standing up. "Or whatever your name is." Calli was making sure to keep her eyes on his feet, just as Smoker had done.

"Listen, you," Calli said, still being careful not to look Noir in the way. "You really hurt one of my best friends. And I'm not going to let you get away with that! I know that you poisoned him, so tell me how to undo it, or else!"

"Or else what?"

"Or else I'll…I'll just have to beat the answer out of you, huh?"

"You? Beat _me_ up? Considering what I saw of your skills from the last time…I seriously doubt that what you're saying you're going to do is gonna happen."

"I can fight, too, you know! You just use dirty tricks!"

"But it works, doesn't it?"

"Calli, what the heck are you doing up there?" that was Hunter's voice. "Who else is there?"

"You should probably get back to your friends," Noir said to Calli, still not having moved from where he was standing. "You're at a serious disadvantage here."

"And why is that?" Calli asked in response.

"You're on top of a building. And I could totally take away your sense of sight. That, plus one little push…and you'd be falling a few stories, right?" Noir replied. "I'm annoyed enough as it is, right now, so if you don't feel like taking a trip, I think you'd better leave."

"I'm not leaving until you tell me how to make Smoker better," Calli remained steadfast. She wasn't going to let him scare her into leaving. She was on a mission, and wasn't about to give up that easily.

"Whatever you say. But I'm not going to tell you. Anyway, if you're not going to leave, why don't I return the favor you did of throwing me off a roof? You know, then we'd be even…"

"No way…you're going to tell me how to make him better…you're going to tell me!" Calli suddenly whipped out her tongue, much to Noir's surprise, wrapping it around him and dragging him over towards the edge of the building. "Now, tell me, or you're going over!"

"You're all talk!" Noir turned his head in the other direction. "This is gross, by the way, so put your tongue back in your big mouth, where it belongs!" But Noir was caught off guard once again when she pulled him further, all the way over the edge, and dangled him down from the roof.

"I'm warning you!" she shouted down to him. "I'll drop you if you don't tell me!" Noir didn't even bother struggling. After all, he didn't want her "accidentally" dropping him…

"You wouldn't drop me," he called back. "I know you wouldn't. You don't have the guts."

"Wanna find out if I do? Seriously, I _will_ drop you!"

"Well, I don't think you will. Cause I'm still not telling you how to make your friend better, and I'm the only one that knows how. So if you drop me now, he'll die. Do you really want that?" Calli was quiet, and Noir smiled. He knew that he had hit a nerve. "I mean, he sure seemed like he was important to you, right? It'd be _such _a shame if he died, huh? And plus, it would be all your fault, for killing the only person that knows how to cure him. Do you want to be at fault for his death?" Another silence. "That's right. You don't. So, why don't you just put me back on the roof, now?"

"Do you…do you promise to cure Smoker?" she asked him.

"Sure, sure, whatever," he replied quickly. "But I feel like I'm slipping, so you'd better hurry and get me back up there."

"Okay…" Calli said, hesitantly pulling Noir back up onto the roof. After she let go, Noir looked in slight disgust at the remnants of spit on his jacket, then looked over at Calli.

"Wanna know a secret?" he asked, coming a step or two closer.

"What?" Calli answered, suddenly feeling uneasy.

"I never keep my promises," was his reply, and Calli felt him put a hand on her back. They were too close to the edge…he was going to push her off! She had no time to react, and was sure that she was going to be shoved right off, only to fall to her death…but then, she felt his hand disappear. Or at least, it was pulled back.

"Let go!" Noir was shouting. Calli turned, only to see Taunter pulling Noir away from her. Taunter had her hands balled up inside her jacket sleeves, and was making sure that Noir couldn't touch, and subsequently paralyze, any exposed skin.

"No, I won't let go!" she replied firmly, though a few nervous giggles still left her mouth, showing that she was actually nervous. "Calli, get away from the edge! I know that he's a skinny little kid, but I'm not that strong, so I won't be able to keep a hold of him for long!" Calli quickly moved away from the edge of the building, the depth of the situation contributing to her suddenly remembering her fear of extreme heights.

"Get _off_!" Noir shouted, finally managing to push Taunter away. He moved away from the two girls, trying to think of a new plan, only to be tackled to the ground by a navy blue blur that had launched down from a higher portion of the roof.

"Take that, ya brat!" Hunter shouted smugly. "Geez, someone needs to teach this kid a lesson."

"I think you just did," Taunter pointed down to where Noir lay on the roof. "He's knocked out."

"Huh?" Hunter looked down at Noir, and it did seem like he was out cold. "Did he hit his head when he fell over? No, he must be faking it!" Hunter stood up, going beside Taunter and Calli. "Someone poke him or something." When no one else made a move to do anything, Hunter moved a bit closer, nudging Noir in the side with his foot a few times. Noir didn't respond. His eyelids didn't even twitch. "Well, geez. I guess I really did knock him out. He deserved it anyway."

"Thanks for coming, guys," Calli smiled, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I guess that I shouldn't have gone by myself after all…"

"Well, Smoker is really important to all of us. It's okay," Taunter smiled. "As long as everyone is safe now, it's fine."

"Well, anyway, we've just gotta take Noir back with us! We'll _make_ him tell us how to make Smoker better!"

"Sounds good to me, now that we've found him and everything," Hunter agreed. "And I guess that he could be held against Cole's team, for a little while at least. Anyway, I'll carry him back, just in case he's faking. I mean, I've got the least exposed skin, right?"

"Right," Taunter nodded. "Come on, guys, let's go." Hunter picked up Noir with relative ease, holding him over one shoulder and really not seeming to be having any trouble carrying him. He started down the fire escape, and Calli followed him. Taunter paused, seeing that Noir's hat had slid off when Hunter picked him up. She frowned, knowing that he would probably miss it. She had a soft spot for kids, even ones that acted like total asses, sadly. And so, she picked it up, then followed the other two down the fire escape.

"You won?" Eric asked once the three of them reached the ground.

"Wow, nice," Tai smiled. "That went fast."

"Yup, and now we're gonna head back," Hunter smiled. "We've just won ourselves a bit of an advantage."

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You know, I would have put more in the chapter, but I didn't want it to be _too_ long. So, I'm just gonna cut it off here. :3 And Noir's plan really backfired on him, huh? XD This is what you get when you abandon your team to be by yourself, kids… -w- Anyway, sorry to all of the Clawer and Healer fans out there who wanted to see where they're going…lol they get so much screen time in Twilight's story that I wanted to give other characters a turn…did I say that out loud? XD Oh well. :P I finished another chapter, and I get to go to Five Guys for lunch tomorrow! X3 They have the BEST burgers and fries! :D And right after that, it's off to the video game store! Oh, how I wish that I had an xbox 360 so that I could actually GET Left 4 Dead… And the author of the fanfic doesn't even own the game. THE LOGIC. Lol. XD Anyway…Question time!

For the good guys: *plays victory music from Final Fantasy* You've captured someone! Congratulations! Sooo…what are you gonna do with him? o_o

For the bad guys: Just what were you guys doing this chapter? XD

For the readers in general: I hope that this story is turning out as good as I hoped it would…do you think that it's good so far? :o

Another random question for the readers: Well, remember a few chapters ago when I asked you all about your character's theme song? XD I was trying to think about that for my own characters! :o But so far I've only found something for Noir. ._. Lol anyone have any suggestions for songs for Taunter, Tai, Hunter, Smoker, Boomer, Tank, or Witch? Trust me, I'm a real music fanatic, so I'd love to hear some new awesome songs! X3

Also for the readers: I bet anything that there is at least one of you who forgot that Calli was a Smoker and got surprised when she used her tongue. -w- And if not…then great job! You get the "The Readers Are Awesome" award! :D


	11. Interrogation

I officially can't wait to get to college. -_- I want out of my house right now! D: Buuuut anyway…aaaagh…school starts soon…I know that it's already started for some of you, so I really shouldn't be complaining, though… ^^; Oh and hi-fives to those of you who actually answered all of the questions for the last three chapters! :D *hi-fives the people* Aaaanyway, I assume that most of you are enjoying the story… ^^ At least, I hope you are… ^^; What was I about to say again…? Oh, right! Listen, if you guys have any ideas for the story, or want a specific scene to happen for your character, feel free to PM me with the idea! I'd love to hear your suggestions! :D Anyway, without further ado, let's get going with the chapter! And once again, I do believe that fanfiction is bolding the whole chapter… *facepalm*

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam and Blake. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole, Gina, and Granny. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awsomedacious1 owns Lurker. A Little Help Here owns Spectre. Butters321 owns Echo. Golden-Gargoyle owns Cat.

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Cole had finally returned to the base. And yet, although he was no longer spontaneously shooting off flames, he wouldn't talk to anyone (nor did anyone particularly want to talk to him while he was like that) and he could often be heard grumbling something under his breath. If anyone so much as looked at him, he gave them a glare that pretty much said "look at me much longer and I might have to incinerate you". Or something along those lines. Everyone was being quiet and doing something to entertain themselves up until they heard a squeaking noise. A small and furry object came flying into the base, surprising several of them.

"Ew, a bat!" Ivy said, backing away from the flying critter. "Get it out of here!"

"What, you're scared of Bongo?" Shawn asked, allowing the bat to land on his hand. "Let's see what you've got here…perfect! A new whistle, just what I needed…"

"Ew…you're actually touching it?" Ivy seemed even further disgusted, and was keeping herself as far away from the bat as possible.

"Geez, don't spaz out." Shawn took the whistle from Bongo, the bat, and then tried to think of what he should have him do next. "Hm…for what you do now…uh…"

"How about you have him go look for Noir?" Mauler asked.

"Why?" Shawn asked bluntly. "We don't want him back here." Nobody noticed as Cole turned his head to look at them, obviously listening, but not saying anything. He hadn't been informed of exactly _why_ Noir was absent yet…

"I know that he may seem really unbearable, but he _is _still a child," Mauler replied. "He could get himself seriously hurt."

"Good. He deserves to get knocked around a bit."

"It was his choice to go away, anyway," Ivy added. "If he wants to leave, I say we let him."

"He'll come back on his own sooner or later anyway," Gina sighed. "He was just throwing a fit. Those don't last forever, so he'll be back before long, unfortunately…"

"Let's just hope that he didn't run into the other team…" Mauler said, pausing for a moment after he was done speaking.

"At least they might be able to find something to do with him," Shawn said, sending the bat off on its way again, with no real task in mind. The group continued on talking, and Cole faced the other way again, having gotten a basic summary of what had happened. Noir had left, on his own choice, for some reason or other, probably because he got mad at someone, and now he was off somewhere in the city…That was not helpful. At all. Still, as Cole thought things over, he realized that he might be able to use this situation to their advantage, if he planned things right. He just had to make a plan…And so, he started thinking of his next scheme while the others continued to babble on about something or other. Things were going to be different this time. This time, their plan would work.

…...

"Are you sure that you took all of the precautions we would need to take?" Boomer asked Hunter.

"Yup. He's locked up in the room, and he's blindfolded so he can't blind anyone. Easy as that," Hunter replied.

"And has he woken up yet?"

"Yeah, he has. And he was pissed at first, but now he's gotten really quiet."

"Well, as long as we've got Noir here, we need to get him to tell us how we can help Smoker," Calli said, entering the conversation.

"But there's no way that he'll tell us," Taunter sighed. "I mean, like Hunter said, first he was all angry, and now he's totally quiet. He was just yelling at us before, but now he hardly says a word, no matter what you say to him. I don't think that we're going to get the information out of him so easily.

"Well then, we might have to use more forceful methods than merely asking him," Alan said. Everyone knew what he was implying.

"Are you sure?" Taunter asked. "I mean, he's just a kid. How old is he? Eleven? Twelve?"

"Yeah…maybe we could offer him something he wants in return for the information," Eric suggested.

"What do we have that he would want?" Hunter asked.

"Well…I don't know. But we can't just go in there and beat him up, right?"

"We have to!" Calli interjected. "Plus, he beat Smoker up, so he deserves it!"

"But Smoker is a lot older…he can actually _take_ the injury, and not die from it," Taunter explained. "Kids can't do that as well as people who are older than them. They're more delicate."

"Taunter, I threw Noir off a roof. I don't think he's very delicate. And this is a matter of life and death for Smoker. We can't just ask Noir nicely to tell us. He'll just laugh at us for it. We've got to take some kind of action!"

"Who here has experience with interrogations?" Boomer asked, turning to everyone present.

"I've had plenty of experience with that," Spectre was the first one to speak up. "And you can be sure that when I'm done with him, we'll have what we want to know."

"I've done some interrogations, too," Alan added. "I can give you some help."

"It makes sense that you would both know how to do that, since you were each on some sort of public protection force before you got infected," Cat said.

"Well, okay, you guys can go and try to get the information from him," Boomer said to Spectre and Alan. "Just try not to go straight to the point where you would hurt him. Let's try and keep this as peaceful as possible."

"Where is he locked up?" Alan asked.

"Over this way, I'll show you where," Hunter replied, leading the way off into an alley. "Follow me." Alan and Spectre went into the alley behind Hunter, and the three of them walked for a block or two, and finally went into a new alley, where there was a closed door on a wall.

"This was the only door we could find with a lock we could figure out how to work," Hunter told them. "That's why it's so far away. Well, anyway, he's in there. He's got a blindfold on, so he can't blind you, but be careful anyway. Don't let him touch you with his bare skin, otherwise you could get poisoned. But, you knew that already, anyway. Just be careful. We still don't know if he has any other powers we don't know about."

"Don't worry about us," Alan told him. "Head back to where the others are, and we'll come back when we're done."

"Alright," Hunter said, beginning to go back to the other location. "See ya." Alan and Spectre turned, facing the door.

"This is the only lock they could figure out how to work?" Alan asked, lifting up the padlock with the key attached by a small chain. "It's so simple, though…anyone could use this."

"We'll have to hope that no one came and got him out, then…" Spectre said as Alan unlocked the door.

"Go away," came the immediate voice from inside as soon as it opened up. Noir must have heard them open it, since he couldn't have possible _seen_ the door open. To their surprise, Noir wasn't tied up or anything, and yet he wasn't making any move to get out or even to take off the blindfold. He was sitting right at the back of the room, atop a pile of discarded burlap sacks. Alan and Spectre were both a bit surprised as to how calm he was being, considering that Hunter said that he had been really angry before. The two of them walked inside, closing the door behind them and letting their eyes adjust to the dim light trickling in through the dirtied windows high up on the wall. Dust motes could be seen drifting through the trails of light, and disappeared from sight as soon as they floated away. All was quiet for a moment.

"Noir, we just want to ask you some questions," Alan spoke up after a while. "If you cooperate, it'll be painless for all of us. One of our comrades is dying right now, and you're the one who knows how to cure him. So, we need you to tell us how to do that. That's all there is to it." Noir didn't say anything, and seemed more like he wasn't even paying attention. Alan sighed, then tried a different approach. "I mean, wouldn't you care if one of your teammates was hurt?" Noir once again didn't verbally respond, but this time he shook his head. And that was a definite "no". This was going to be harder than they had expected.

"Listen, kid, you have to answer the questions," Spectre said, his voice sounding harsher than Alan's had. "I don't care what you think about us or our team, but whether you like it or not, you're going to tell us what we want to know."

"So, let's just keep this quick and easy," Alan added. "How do we cure the poison that you put into our friend's body?" Noir still wasn't talking. Alan glanced over at Spectre, feeling unsure that they could actually get the information they needed from Noir. "Maybe we should just try later."

"There might not _be_ a time when he'll tell us," Spectre replied. "Not willingly, at least. We have to do this now. Do you want me to try?"

"Hang on, let me try for a little while longer," Alan answered, then looked back to Noir. "Well, if we can't just _ask_ you for this answer, is there anything you want for it?"

"Nothing _you_ could give me," Noir said quietly.

"Ah, so, he finally speaks. Now we're making progress," Spectre managed a grim smile. "Anything else you want to tell us?" Noir closed his mouth once again, shaking his head. "Hm. Too bad."

"So, there's really _nothing_ that we can do so that you'll tell us how to cure our friend?" Alan asked. Another shake of the head from Noir. "Well then, _why_ do you not want to tell us so badly?" Noir paused, but then decided to speak again.

"Because, you adults are all the same. I wouldn't tell you what you wanted to know even if you tried to force me."

"Because we're all the same…? Is that your only reason?"

"Y-Yeah, of course. Stupid."

"Hm…you stuttered there."

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"Well, at least he's talking now…" Alan said, summarizing the situation. "Noir, we don't want to have to get violent here, but if you make this difficult, we'll have to."

"Hmph. You don't scare me."

"Oh really?" Spectre asked. "Trust me, I can be _very_ scary if I try to be." Noir looked in the direction that he hoped was away from the other two, and didn't respond.

"Back to square one, then…" Alan sighed again.

"Listen, Alan, why don't you go back where everyone else is?" Spectre turned to him. "You seem tired. I can take care of this."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Go ahead back. I'll be there soon."

"Alright, good luck," Alan said, then turned to the door, opening it and leaving, then closing it on his way out. It was silent for a while.

"So," Spectre spoke, "do you really think that you're going to get through this without telling the truth?"

"Well, why do I have to tell _you_ anything?" Noir asked. "Plus, isn't it against the law to threaten someone younger than you like that? Ever think of that?"

"The infection has ravaged this country. There is no law anymore."

"Whatever. I'm not telling you anything. You can just go-"

"Don't fuck with me, kid!" Spectre cut him off. "I mean it. I know that in all of those cartoons you used to watch on Saturday mornings or whatever, everyone always takes pity on the kids. That's all fiction, though. This is the real world. And don't think that I won't beat the information out of you just because you're a kid."

"You still don't scare me." Noir still seemed totally sure that Spectre was bluffing. But Spectre himself knew that he was most certainly _not_ bluffing. When a friend was at stake…then there was no fucking around.

"I'll give you one more chance to tell me how to cure him," Spectre said. "But if you don't answer now…I _am_ going to hurt you. You'd better realize that."

"Adults have been hurting me my whole life, anyway! What do I care if you do the same?" Noir blurted out suddenly. He suddenly seemed completely out of sorts and ruffled, as if some sort of bad memory had been summoned up somehow. "All I know is that I'm not telling you anything, you got that?"

"Fine then," Spectre replied, preparing himself to start. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

…...

"Alan? You're back already?" Boomer asked as Alan entered the area they were all staying in. "Did you get the info from Noir?"

"No, but Spectre is still there trying to have him tell," Alan replied. "He told me that I should come back here and rest. Don't worry, I'm sure that he'll do a good job."

"I just hope that he doesn't hurt Noir _too_ badly," Taunter said, looking worried.

"Why?" Calli asked.

"I mean, like I said before, he's just a kid…"

"She's right, hurting him would be bad," Eric agreed.

"Still, if Spectre did try hurting him to get the info out of him, things could get bad," Tai added. "Noir is really stubborn. He wouldn't give up so easily, and the longer it takes, the more he would get hurt, and well, you get the picture."

"You guys can always ask Spectre how Noir is once he gets back, right?" Boomer asked. "Don't worry about it. Everything's going to be okay after this. Well, not everything, but you know what I mean."

"Let's hope so," Calli nodded. "I want Smoker to get better!"

"We all do."

"Actually…" Calli paused. "Alan, since you're back here, how about I go help Spectre?"

"Are you sure that you want to do something like that?" Alan asked. "Interrogating people isn't exactly fun."

"Yeah, but I need to give that Noir a piece of my mind, anyway! I'm going to go help! See you guys later!" And with that, she was off, and no one could stop her before she was around the corner.

"I sure hope that we can figure out how to make Smoker better," Taunter mumbled. "We've got to do our best to help him."

"And, we've got to watch out for when Cole attacks again," Alan said, glancing back out at the street again. "Let's hope that Smoker is better by that time, otherwise all of will be at a serious disadvantage."

"Anyway, Alan, do you want to try to discuss strategy again?" Boomer asked.

"Sure," Alan nodded. "If there's anything we need, it's strategy. Let's go."

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As for the good guys who weren't around…I have an explanation! They were off watching Smoker! :3 Yeah…all of them… ^^; There's my excuse for being lazy! D: Sorry… ^^; Soooo anyway…I doubt that most of you really give a crap about what happens to Noir, but it's a cliffhanger anyway. XD Soooo…yeah. Also, school is coming! D: I'll tell you again that these updates are going to be really slow once school starts. Like…maybe even a week just for one chapter. A week or more. Depends on homework amounts. But, I'll try to get up one or two more chapters before I have to go _learn_ things… *shudders* Anyway, time for the questions! ^^ And please try to answer them… ^^;

For the good guys: Sooo, you really aren't sure what's gonna happen to Smoker, huh? :o Only I know, bwahahaha. XD Buuut anyway. So, you've got Noir in interrogation, and you're gonna try to find out how to help Smoker! So, do you think that Noir is actually going to tell anyone how to help him? And if not, are you (as in, your character, not the readers lol XD) are you against hurting him to force him to tell you?

For the bad guys: Do you guys honestly care that Noir is gone from your team? What are you going to do when you find out that he got captured?

Question for the readers! This one is VERY IMPORTANT!

Alright, now, listen. Before I start the next chapter, I'm required to ask this. :o Are any of you against violent scenes that include blood and such? :o I mean…we've all played this video game, full of blood and slicing up Infected with chainsaws, but still. Are any of you against really violent stuff? Because if any of you are, I'll take out one of the scenes for the next chapter. I need everyone to answer this, because I don't want to offend someone who's not okay with it! Sooo…yeah. Answer. XD

Also: Whoever can pronounce Noir's name correctly gets a cookie. XD


	12. Retribution

Lol. You guy really do crack me up. XD Some of you, who had never commented before, commented JUST to say that you wanted blood and gore. XD I even got a request for "lots of blood, guts, brains, and chocolate" XD And practically all of you seemed to really want some violence… XD Now, listen. I'm required to keep this fic T rated, or else it'll be taken down. You guys don't want this to be taken down, right? D: I've gotta keep the violence to an acceptable level. So…yeah. XD Don't expect too much… :o Plus, I'm a bit of a pushover myself, so I might not even be able to bring myself to write all that much violence… ^^; Especially happening to eleven year olds. D: (Yes, Noir is eleven. :P) Well, I'll see what I can do. :o Also, you all know how I asked you if you knew how to pronounce Noir's name, right…? XD Well, here are the results! The winner is…NO ONE! 8D You're all wrong lol XD Well, sorta. :P If you wanna go with the French pronunciation (yesh, his name is a French word…I just thought it sounded cool XD) if you go with the French pronunciation, it's actually said like "new-ar". Or something like that. :P If you wanna make it simpler, you could just say it however you want, I guess. XD Well anyway, that's that! I don't really have anything else to say…so, let's get going! :D

Note:…I still can't believe how excited you guys are about violence XD It's so funny… XD Lol so either you guys really have it out for Noir, or you just wanna see a bloody scene…or both…or neither… o_o; Welll like I said, I gotta keep this T rated… ^^; So, I'll see what I can do… :D Lol, you guys and your violence… :P Also, I'm betting that at least five of you went "AWWWW D8" when you saw that I said I had to keep the violence a bit lower XD

Edit: I am having serious issues figuring out how to even start the chapter off and not make it sound totally awkward… D:

Edit: Okay, I managed to start it off! XD Lol anyway. Beware, people! This chapter has a certain someone (guess who :P) getting beat up reeeeeeeally really bad.

Also: I reeeally didn't feel like proofreading this one, so beware the grammar! ^^;

And: Please be aware that fanfiction might decide that it for some reason wants to bold or underline the entire chapter x_x

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam and Blake. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole, Gina, and Granny. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awsomedacious1 owns Lurker. A Little Help Here owns Spectre. Butters321 owns Echo. Golden-Gargoyle owns Cat.

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Spectre still hadn't returned yet, and neither had Calli. Calli, they could understand. She had just left after all. But as for Spectre, they couldn't be sure whether something was up or not. He had been gone for an awfully long time…

"Are you sure that we should go check…?" Taunter asked for around the third time as they sat there.

"Calli's there, too. There's no need to worry about what's going on," Sam told her.

"Yeah, but still…"

"Are you seriously worried that Noir is going to get hurt?" Blake asked, looking confused. "I mean, he really hurt Smoker. Why do you seem so reluctant for someone to hurt him?"

"Well, he's a kid, for one thing…but also…I don't know. Something just seems…familiar about him," Taunter mumbled. "Like…oh, I don't know. It's just that something in the back of my mind is just nagging at me…and it has been since we first caught him."

"It's probably nothing," Hunter said.

"Yeah, you're probably just feeling a bit out of whack because of all the fighting," Echo nodded.

"Hm…maybe," Taunter said. "Still…once Spectre's done, can I just go take a look?"

"As long as someone goes with you, sure," Boomer replied.

"I just hope that things don't get too bad…"

…...

The air was tense. There wasn't a sound in the small room. The stuffy and warm air was making breathing more a chore, and everything seemed far too apprehensive to bear.

"You…" Noir paused. "You're not really going to do it. You're bluffing." But Noir was startled when he was suddenly grabbed by the collar of his shirt and lifted right off the ground, his feet waving around in the air in a desperate attempt to be let down.

"Am I bluffing? Tell me," he heard Spectre say.

"Let go!" Noir said quickly, grabbing onto Spectre's hand to try to either get him off or poison him, the former of which didn't work because Spectre was simply far stronger, and the latter of the two not working because Spectre was wearing long sleeves and gloves. There were no openings. "Just…just get off me already!"

"You want me to let go? Alright," Spectre replied before promptly throwing Noir into the metal shelves behind him. Noir hit it hard, the metal clanging together and then reverberating back and forth as he fell to the ground.

"Ugh…" Noir reached up to the back of his head, where he could already tell a lump was going to form. Not only that, but his whole back was probably going to be bruised. He hurriedly reached up and pulled off the blindfold, then looked up to try to blind Spectre, hoping that he could get himself an opening, but his head was spinning so much from hitting the shelves that he couldn't seem to figure out the right sequence to flash his eyes in…Spectre was walking over to him again, and all he knew was that he had to move. _Fast_. If he could just stay away until he could blind him…Noir got up, but then stumbled and tripped over a wire on the floor, but scrambled up again and moved to the other side of the room. He still found that for some reason, he couldn't get himself to blind Spectre. Something just wasn't working!

"Stay away from me!" Noir shouted, backed up against the wall. But Spectre wasn't stopping his approach, and Noir knew that there was nothing that he could do to make him stop. He had no way to fight back. He had always depended on his abilities, but now they didn't work. Now, he had no abilities, and no way to protect himself. He had _nothing_. As Spectre got closer, he saw something new in Noir's eyes. Something that probably nobody had ever seen: true fear.

_Good,_ Spectre thought to himself, smiling a bit. At this point, Noir was looking for any available way out of there. He had to wonder: Had the other guy locked the door when he had left? It was worth a shot. Noir faked a leftwards dodge, then managed to dart around Spectre and over to the door. He tried the handle, and it _opened_. But that was where his luck ended. Just as he was about to run out, he felt Spectre grab his jacket, pulling him back inside.

"Get off!" Noir shouted, trying to pull away, but it was no use. Spectre was way stronger.

"Oh, so you're trying to run away now?" Spectre asked, pulling and then pushing Noir back into the room, into one of the corners, then shutting the door and locking it. "What happened to that attitude of yours from before?" Spectre turned to face him again. And just by looking at his face, Noir could tell that he was about to be in some deep shit. He had to stop it. _Now_.

"H-Hang on!" Noir said quickly before Spectre could come closer. "I'll tell you what you want to know! It's not a matter of getting a cure for your friend, all of my poisons other than the instant death one are temporary. Your friend should wake up in a day or two, okay? Isn't that all you needed to know? You can leave me alone now, right?"

"Wrong," Spectre replied instantly. "But thanks for the info anyway."

"Wr-Wrong? What are you talking about?"

"You _did_ do _more_ than just poison him, remember? You're going to have to pay for that."

"B-But that…that wasn't part of the deal!"

"What deal? I never made _any_ deal with you. You hurt my friend. Even worse, you put him close to death. _And_ there's someone who really cares about him, cares about him more than anyone else. And now you've made _her_ miserable. I can't have that happen and let you just walk away."

"But…no…" Noir shook his head, slowly sinking down into a sitting position in the corner. "You can't…no, you can't do that!"

"On the contrary, I think that I'm more than able to do it," Spectre said in response. "For _starters_, why don't I give you a wound to match what you did to him?" Spectre's claws _were_ long enough to do it. It would be easy. Like a knife through warm butter.

"J-Just leave me alone!" Noir shouted, his voice quavering as he curled up into a ball, covering his head with his arms. "Don't do it…" Was he crying? Spectre wasn't phased. He grabbed one of Noir's arms, pulling him up and into a standing position, where he was wide open for injury. Noir could see what was coming, and tried to move out of the way, but it was too late. Spectre drove his claws directly into Noir's right side, exactly where Smoker had been injured. Spectre could tell that it had gone all the way through. Noir clenched his teeth and kept his mouth shut, but a muffled, though audible scream could be heard just inside his mouth, trying to find its way out into the open.

"What? Does that hurt?" Spectre asked, unable to keep the smiled from further spreading across his face. This was _vengeance_. And it felt great. "Why don't you just go ahead and scream already?" Noir shook his head, not wanting to talk when he was focusing so hard on just not crying, which wasn't going very well anyways, seeing as he could already feel the tears in his eyes spilling over. It was obvious that he was in a lot of pain. "Not going to, huh? What if I do this?" Spectre twisted his hand to the left a bit, and this time, Noir couldn't help but yell out in pain.

"Stop it!" he managed to sputter out in what sounded more like a sob than a shout. He could feel the warm, crimson blood dampening his shirt and jacket, dripping down in a steady stream and making a pool on the floor that seemed to contain far too much blood when coming from such a small body.

"You didn't stop when you were doing this to Smoker, did you?" Spectre asked him, now sounding more angry. "You didn't even think to stop! You're getting what you deserve, you little piece of shit!"

"I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! Please, just-"

"It's too late for sorry!" Spectre shouted at him, tugging his hand out through Noir's side and splattering blood on the far wall as he did so. Noir fell to the ground, not even bothering try to talk anymore, seeing as he wouldn't be understandable due to how much he was crying. He shrunk back into the corner once again, trying to put pressure onto his side in order to stop the bleeding.

"Oh, come on! Get up!" Spectre shouted, dealing him a kick in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Noir had no idea how he was going to get out of this one, and he was already feeling like he wouldn't be able to take much more. There was, however, one thing that might work…He closed his eyes, and let himself go limp. Maybe Spectre would think that he was knocked out…

"What? Feeling tired?" Spectre asked, lifting Noir up by his shirt again, wondering if he had really _already_ been knocked out. Noir was trying to keep as still as possible, hoping that this would work…but he couldn't keep his eyelids from twitching on pure reflex.

"Aha, so you're still awake!" Spectre said, shoving Noir up against one of the hard, stone walls. Noir wasn't even trying to get away anymore. He knew that he couldn't do it. "Now, what should I do with you next, hm?" There was no way out. Nothing Noir could do to stop it. And what had only been five minutes already felt like an eternity. This was going to last forever.

…...

Calli was nearly to the room, walking down the sidewalk and glancing at the occasional old billboard on the building walls along the way. As she got closer to the area, she could hear muffled voices and thumping noises. It had been a long time since she had gone to find him, after all. He had probably had at least a half an hour in there. What had he done during that time? And what was he doing now? Had he found out how to help Smoker? Calli approached the door slowly, then opened it and walked inside. Spectre was in the middle of shouting something.

"-I'm serious here, I'm going to make you _pay_!" he was shouting at Noir, it looked like, and also holding him up off the ground. And Noir looked absolutely awful. His jacket and shirt were all torn up, and blood was spotting in random areas. There were cuts and gashes all up his arms and legs, and around his chest and back, too. Not to mention the one particularly large wound open in his side, and what looked to be a fair sized bump on the back of his head. Not only that, but he was crying like all hell had just broken loose. Spectre was still shouting at him, nonetheless… "I'm going to make you feel _everyone's_ pain tenfold!" Spectre himself looked like he was completely enraged, somehow not even himself…

"Spectre?" Calli said tentatively, putting a hand onto his arm. "Uh…I think that you've beat him up enough…" Spectre paused, looking like he had just been brought out of a trance, then dropped Noir to the ground. He was breathing hard, but inhaled a few times through his nose and exhaled through his mouth to calm himself and get his heart rate down a bit.

"Sorry," he said after a moment. "I just wanted him to know how we all felt. He fully deserved it."

"Hm…maybe not that much…"

"I figured out how to help Smoker."

"You did?" Calli said in relief, forgetting about Noir completely. "That's great! Come on, let's go tell everyone!" Calli dashed out the door, and Spectre followed her, shutting the door behind them.

…...

"We figured it out!" came Calli's voice down the alleyway and into the resting area, and everyone turned to look as she and Spectre came walking over to where they were. "It turns out that we don't need an antidote at all! He'll be waking up in just a few days!"

"Really? Phew," Hunter smiled a bit.

"What a relief!" Boomer nodded. "We need to go let everyone else know!"

"Hey, um, Calli?" Taunter said. "Was Noir hurt real bad?"

"I didn't _kill_ him, that's for sure," Spectre shrugged.

"Don't worry about it, Taunter," Calli smiled. "I mean, let's just be happy that Smoker is going to be okay! Come on, guys, let's go let everyone else know!" The majority of the group left to go where everyone else was, with Smoker. The only two remaining were Taunter and Tai.

"Hey…what's wrong?" Tai asked her.

"I don't know…" Taunter shook her head. "You…go on ahead. I'll catch up in a second."

"Okay, see you there," Tai smiled slightly, then went off to join everyone else. Taunter waited until he was out of sight, then turned and ran down the alley. She had to know what they had done to Noir. She didn't know why. But she knew that she had to know. She kept on running all the way until she got into the room. She took a deep breath outside of it, then opened it up tentatively.

"Noir?" she said quietly, hoping with all her might to hear some sort of insult in response, a proof a Noir's wellness. But no such response came. No reply at all came, in fact. She let her eyes adjust to the light inside, then went inside the room. She walked a bit further in until her foot bumped into something. She backed up a bit and looked down at the ground. What she saw shocked her so badly that she didn't even find it in her to scream, or even let loose a startled laugh. Noir was lying on the ground, either unconscious or dead, in a pool of his own blood, with injuries all over his body. "N…N-Noir!" she finally shook herself out of her stupor and checked his pulse. It was still beating. He wasn't dead. "I…I need bandages…bandages!" She quickly stood up and starting rooting through the boxes around the room, throwing out unneeded items into the corners of the room. She knew that Noir was supposed to be the bad guy. She knew that he had hurt Smoker, and a lot of her other friends. She knew that he had a bad personality, and was usually really mean to everyone. But she wasn't about to take this sitting down. He was just a kid. No older than eleven, at least. And she was _not _going to let Noir die. No matter what…she wasn't going to let him fade away.

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Lol I had so much trouble writing this chapter. XD I was pausing after like…every sentence, just going like this: "*puts hand onto chin* Hmmmm… ._." I'm so bad at writing stuff like this. D: I mean, it IS my first time writing a scene like that… ^^; Well, just more experience under my belt, I suppose. :) Lol but anyway, I can tell you guys that what you see here is the censored version! XD It ended up being more M rated when I wrote it, so I cut out a few parts :o Well, I hope that it was good enough… ^^; Ohhh…seriously, I've got a feeling that it sounded really bad…not as in bad like too violent, bad as in crappy writing… o_o; Well, nothing I can do about it now! ^^; Just gotta hope that it sounds okay… :o Anyway, question time!

For the good guys: Okay, so you know that Smoker is gonna be okay now! Yaaay! So. Do any of you feel guilty about getting Noir all beat up now that you know that you could have just waited for the poison to wear off? :o Or do you still hate the kid's guts? o_o

For the bad guys: Something did happen for you guys during this chapter, I just didn't want to make the chapter any longer than it already is! :o So, as it turns out, during this chapter, Bongo the bat has brought you the info that Noir has actually been captured! Omg! What are you gonna do about it? Are you goin' on a rescue mission? :O


	13. Awakening

Why do I always write these things in the middle of the night? -_-; Who knows? 8D So tired… -w-; Well, anyway, new chapter! And due to the combination of me being a total wimp and Noir's misfortune in the previous chapter, I'm being nice to him in this chapter! 8D Yay me! X3 *gets glares from readers* ….hahahaha… :D Yeeeeah. ^^; I'm sorry, all my characters are my little babies! ;w; I can't bear to see them hurt without something nice happening to them afterwards! ;w; Well, anyway, let's go! ^^;

Also: I didn't bother proofreading this one either. :O I'm so lazyyyy… D:

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam and Blake. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole, Gina, and Granny. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awsomedacious1 owns Lurker. A Little Help Here owns Spectre. Butters321 owns Echo. Golden-Gargoyle owns Cat.

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"Listen, guys, I'm serious about this," Cole was speaking, talking to the entire team. At least, the whole team that was present. "We can use this to our advantage _and_ get Noir back here. Two birds with one stone, right?"

"I think that we should just go help Noir first," Mauler shook his head. "If he's been caught by the other team, he'll be in serious trouble. If we go for two objectives first, then we might lose sight of one and forget important details."

"I agree," Hammer added. "If we don't go to get Noir now, he could die in their hands."

"Geez, don't be so overdramatic," Cole smiled slightly and shook his head a bit. "Nothing's gonna happen to him. He can take care of himself, or so he says so often. Besides, with this plan I've made, we can help him and take out the other team at the same time. We'll just do it this way. It'll make things a whole lot easier."

"Sounds fine to me," Shawn shrugged. "Let's just get it over with."

"Well, then!" Cole said without waiting for anyone else's opinion, since he knew that everyone would want to voice their own, and it would take forever… "This plan's pretty complicated. Might be a bit too advanced for some of you. So listen up, and listen good, 'cause I'm only saying this once. Here's what we're gonna do."

…...

It was looking to be a dreary day. It was drizzling a bit, but not enough to make anyone want to move inside. Everyone was sitting around quietly, finding ways to entertain themselves. But all of a sudden, someone broke the silence.

"Ugh, my head…"

"Someone's got a headache?" Sam asked without looking up.

"Yeah, my head's hurting like crazy…"

"Try putting some ice on it-" Sam cut himself off, realizing something. "Hey. Wait a second…" Sam turned around to look, not having expected this at all.

"He's up," Jeffry grinned, pointing at Smoker, who was now steadily attempting to sit up.

"Did I miss anything?" Smoker asked, blinking blearily and looking around. "…why's everyone looking at me like that?"

"Smoker!" Calli shouted, nearly knocking him down when she hugged him. "I just knew you'd wake up!"

"Uh, hi, Calli," Smoker said, almost losing his balance. "What do you mean, wake up?"

"You've been unconscious for days now!"

"…Days?"

"Yeah, days."

"…seriously?"

"Yes! Seriously! And you're never gonna scare me like that again, okay?" Calli told him this confidently, crossing her arms over her chest. Smoker, still thoroughly confused, was beginning to get absolutely swarmed by everyone else, giving well wishes and pats on the back, among other things of the like.

"Uh…could someone explain what happened?" Smoker asked, talking over everyone else.

"Well, Noir hurt you pretty bad. That's why you've got all those bandages. And he poisoned you, too, so you were out cold for a few days," Boomer explained.

"What…he didn't hurt any of you guys, right?" Smoker said quickly, looking around in a quick check for injuries.

"Nope, we're all fine," Calli told him. "We were all just really, really worried about you! We thought that you might be in really big trouble when you didn't wake up for a while! So, I went out to go find Noir to get him to tell us how to make you better, and we brought him back here, and then we found out from him, and now you're okay!"

"Wait, he just told you…? Ah, never mind. You can tell me later. For now, I need to go tell everyone else I'm okay…" Smoker started to get up, but Calli stopped him.

"Smoker, you've got stitches in you! You're not going anywhere!" Calli frowned at him, pulling him back down to where he had been lying down before.

"Stitches? I thought that it was just bandages…"

"Just stay here, okay? We'll go tell everyone else that you're alright."

"Well, okay then," Smoker shrugged. "They'll all come over here, anyways. Let's make sure that everyone knows that I'm fine."

"Okay! Let's go, guys!"

…...

Noir still hadn't woken up yet, and Taunter was starting to get worried. She had bandaged him up already, and tried to stitch up his worst injury, though she had done a pretty crude job of it. She had never been good at sewing. Still, she was more thankful than she could ever believe that she had found bandages and other medical supplies in the boxes in the room. It had really been a lucky find. So now, Noir was lying down on a bed made of arranged sacks from the floor. Taunter was sitting on the pile of remaining sacks, waiting for him to wake up. She just wanted to know that he was okay. Even though she knew that everyone had really wanted to get that information from Noir, _this_ was just cruel. They had hurt a child so much that he had been on the verge of death…Taunter wasn't about to take that sitting down. But she had to make sure that Noir was alright first. Even if he was really mean sometimes, and even if he did try to hurt others, she knew that he was still a kid, and he couldn't _possibly_ be all bad…right? She would never wish _this_ much pain onto anyone. Not even someone like Noir. Not even someone like Cole, for that matter! And even worse, Noir wasn't even an adult…or even a teenager yet! She felt really badly for him, even though she had seen what a jerk he could be. She just couldn't help it. When anyone got hurt, even people she didn't like, she always felt sympathy for them. Getting hurt was no small matter, after all! She glanced over at Noir again, just checking on him. She could see that he was still breathing, and his breathing pattern was steady and even, which meant that he would probably be okay. Although he _would_ probably be in some pain when he woke up. It was at times like these when Taunter really wished that Healer was still around. Where had she and Clawer gone off to? They had picked the worst time to leave, too…

"Wh…What are you doing?" Taunter nearly jumped a foot in the air when she heard Noir's voice.

"Y-You scared me!" she smiled and gave a nervous laugh. "Uhh…I'm just sitting here. Not doing anything much." Noir didn't say anything to that, and turned his head to look at the ceiling. "Have…have you been awake for a long time?"

"No, I just woke up now," Noir replied. "Hey…why did you bandage me up?"

"Why? Because you were hurt, that's why!"

"But I thought that you guys hated me."

"I don't _hate_ anyone. I'll dislike people…but not hate. Well, I might hate Cole, but he's just a creep…But anyway, I don't hate you. And you got hurt really bad. How do you feel now? Does it still hurt?"

"…Yeah. Why?"

"Man, I wish that I knew where to find some painkillers or something…maybe then you could feel better…" Taunter stood, digging around in one of the boxes in hopes of finding something that might work.

"This still feels pretty weird."

"Weird? What's weird?"

"Just…you. Doing this. I mean…Wasn't your team just trying to beat me up?"

"They went _way_ too far. I told them not to, but they did it anyway. And nobody else seemed to care, but I sure do. I'm not about to let you die over something like this."

"You're…kinda weird."

"Huh?"

"I nearly killed one of your teammates. And now you're helping me. Where's the logic here?"

"But I know that he's going to be fine. And you're the one that's really hurt right now."

"Listen…it doesn't usually work-" Noir tried to sit up, but then cringed a bit and lay back down.

"Hey, don't try to move!" Taunter turned around to face him quickly. "I mean, I bandaged you up and all, but I did a pretty crappy job with the stitches, so you shouldn't move around until the big wound is healed." She turned back to the box for a moment, but then sat down again. "Nope, no painkillers. Not in that box, at least."

"I don't need any painkillers. I'm fine."

"But earlier you just said that it still hurt."

"Yeah, but I'm fine."

"Still…man, give me five minutes alone with whoever hurt you so bad! I'm gonna give 'em a piece of my mind!"

"You haven't changed, huh?"

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Forget I said anything." Then, it was quiet again. But soon enough, Noir spoke again. "Either way, I don't think that your team will be needing to worry about _me_ for a while."

"Well, I know that I'm gonna worry about you," Taunter told him. "I'm gonna come visit you every day and bring you food and stuff."

"Geez…well, that's new. Are you sure that you don't have any other reason for this? You're not going to put stuff in my food, right?"

"Of course not! Listen, I'm really and truly going to be taking care of you! Because I care about what happens to you, even if nobody else does!" Silence descended again. When Taunter looked over at Noir, it seemed like he was thinking. Then again, it also seemed like he might be falling asleep again. It was hard to tell. "You must still be pretty tired."

"No…not really," Noir shook his head, though it was obvious that he was having trouble staying fully awake.

"You get some sleep. I'm gonna go tell everyone that I'm okay, and I'm gonna check on Smoker, then I'll bring some food back here. You've gotta eat something, otherwise you'll just turn out even worse. Alright, I'm going to-" Taunter paused, looking over at Noir, and was surprised when she saw that he was already asleep. "Wow. Uh…" She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Bye, I guess!" Then, she left the room, closing the door behind her.

…...

"Smoker! You're okay!" Taunter ran over and gave Smoker a big hug. "Geez, don't scare us like that!"

"Well, yeah…sorry," Smoker laughed a bit. "But, be careful, alright? I've still got stitches, after all…"

"Smoker needs a lot of rest!" Calli nodded. "And he's gonna need to eat a lot of food and stuff to regain his strength before he can go out and about again!"

"Hey, and…where have you been all this time?" Hunter asked Taunter. "I mean, I know that you were going to go check on Noir, but what happened?"

"Um…" Taunter paused, looking around at the group. "That is…uh…"

"Did he do something?"

"No, no! I mean, he was…uh…he was gone when I got there! Totally vanished! I don't know what happened to him. He must've been okay if he did that, though, so, yeah!"

"You seem kind of nervous when you say that," Boomer commented.

"Nervous? I'm _definitely_ not nervous, hehehe…Anyway! Who wants to come with me to the food store to get some food! I'll need some bodyguards, right? Let's form a group and get going!"

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Short chapter is short. ._. But I wanted to finish it before I went to a sleepover party tomorrow, so here you go! :D Oh, and by the way! :o Just because your character doesn't have any lines doesn't mean that they aren't there! ^^ They are there, just not speaking! :o I mean, for one thing, it's hard to give everyone lines, since there's so many characters…and also, I've got a bunch of characters who apparently "don't talk much", so you need to take that into account, too! XD Obviously, if you wanted your character to have a lot of lines, you should have made them talkative! :D (I tell you this _now_? -w-) Sooo…yeah. Also! Due to the fact that so many of you enjoyed Noir getting beat up, Taunter is gonna take care of him! XD Just because…just because she wants to! :3 And once again, if you have any ideas to suggest for the story, I am open! Just nothing too crazy, okay? -w-; Now, question time!

For the good guys: Smoker's okay! Yaaaay! :D Now then. :o I really need the answer to this question for plot purposes, so don't forget to answer it! XD So, anyway. I know that you're character is all excited about Smoker being okay, right? :o BUT. :O Are they even going to consider going to see what happened to Noir? :o Or do they believe Taunter and her suckish lying skills? XD (Okay…so both Taunter AND Tai suck at lying then… XD)

For the bad guys: Okay, so let's just _pretend_ that at this point you know what Cole's plan is. XD Are you gonna go through with it, or go off on your own plan? :o

Note: I swear… XD If the previous chapter makes someone accuse me of child abuse, I'm blaming you guys who wanted violence… -w-;


	14. A Day of Peace

Yay, new chapter! Ugh…school is about to start, and I still have a pile of summer work to do… DX I don't wanna go to school…waaaaah… TT^TT But then again, I know that none of us do. D: Summer vacation went by all too quickly…at least we all got to spend summer together with the story! :3 It's hard to believe that I started the prequel to this at the beginning of the summer…it feels like it's been around for so much longer than that! Well, I know that I've made some great friends! X3 Lol why does this sound like the intro for the last chapter? XD Fear not, the last chapter for this is still very, VERY far away. XD Oh, and also, for those of you who message me with questions, sorry if I don't get back to you right away…because sometimes I'm just too lazy to answer all of them right away… ^^; Well, anyway, let's get on with the chapter! :D

And as usual…I'm too lazy to proofread! Wheeee… -w-; So, yeah…grammar mistakes might be in there. XD

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam and Blake. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole, Gina, and Granny. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awsomedacious1 owns Lurker. A Little Help Here owns Spectre. Butters321 owns Echo. Golden-Gargoyle owns Cat.

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Taunter had been acting a bit strange. And contrary to what she thought, everyone had noticed. They really had no idea why she kept on going back to that room, even though Noir had apparently "disappeared" according to her. She even brought food in there every now and then. Though nobody had actually taken the initiative to go and _see_ what was up yet. But today was the day that somebody was going to take that initiative.

"She went this way, right?" Sam asked, peering around a corner.

"Yeah, I think so," Blake replied. "She always goes this way." The two of them continued on down the alleyway until finally they reached their destination: the mysterious room that seemed to be so important to Taunter lately.

"Do you think that he's really gone?" Sam wondered aloud. "Did something happen to him or something?"

"Beats me, bro," Blake shrugged, looking down at his brother. "I say that we just go in and check."

"Alright, we can-" Sam stopped himself just as he saw the door opening.

"I'll be back soon!" Taunter was calling back inside. She shut the door behind herself as she left, then turned around only to bump right into Sam and Blake, looking quite startled.

"Uhhh…hi, guys!" she grinned, laughing uneasily.

"Hi," Sam replied in greeting. "Who were you talking to in there?"

"Talking to? No one."

"But you just said 'I'll be back soon'. Isn't that talking to someone?"

"Uh…oh, no, no, you've got the wrong idea! I was talking to myself!"

"Telling yourself that you'll be back soon?" Blake asked, looking skeptical.

"Er…that is to say…my imaginary friend. Yeah. His name is T and he's a cat. And an infected cat at that. Ha, I made a rhyme! Isn't that funny? Well, I'll see you guys later! Just…uh…don't go inside there!"

"Why not?" Sam called after her as she left.

"Um…cause if you startle T, he'll scratch up your face!" Taunter answered as she went away.

"But I thought he was imaginary-"

"Sorry, can't hear you, bye!" And with that, she was gone.

"Well, that was weird," Blake frowned. "Now we know that she's definitely hiding something in there."

"Or someone," Sam turned to the door. "I wonder what's up." He decided not to try the door, but went around to the window instead, climbing up onto a box to get a better look inside.

"What do you see?" Blake asked.

"The window's too dirty. I can barely see anything. There's someone in there…I can't tell who. But they're lying down off at the other side." Sam climbed back down from the box. "I bet that it's Noir. Did we ever find out how badly he got hurt anyway?"

"No, we didn't…maybe we should just peek inside to check-" But at that moment, they heard footsteps coming back towards them. "Sounds like Taunter's back. We'd better get out of here before she sees us. We can always come back later."

"Yeah, let's go," Sam agreed, and the two of them went out the alley in the other direction just as Taunter returned. She glanced around a bit, then entered the door, closing it behind her.

"That was a close one," she said to herself. "Sam and Blake almost found out!"

"And what happens if they find out?" Noir asked, having heard her.

"I don't know. But it probably won't be good," she answered, turning to face him.

"Won't you get in trouble with your team if they find out that you're taking care of me?"

"Well, maybe. They might lecture me a bit. But nothing more than that, I think."

"That's it? Seriously?"

"Yeah, why?"

"If you screw up something on Cole's team, you get third degree burns. Everywhere."

"Ew. Sounds painful. He really does that?"

"Yeah. You're team only tells people not to do stuff? Geez. Sure sounds a lot better."

"Well, everybody on my team…we're all friends, so we would never do anything to hurt each other," Taunter explained. "Even when you mess something up, everyone forgives you, and then you move on. That's the really simple way of putting it."

"Sounds weird to me," Noir looked the other way as he spoke. "How can you have time for friends when you need to be fighting people all the time?"

"Well, we're not fighting people _all_ the time," Taunter replied. "I mean, before you guys came, we were all just hanging out and having fun. This fighting stuff is pretty new to a lot of us."

"So, wait. You never try to take over other cities or anything?"

"Nope."

"But aren't you supposed to do that?"

"You don't _have_ to. What kind of ideas is Cole smushing into your head, huh? As long as you have friends, you don't need power. You can be content with what you have."

"But if someone's better off than you, wouldn't you want to be better off than them?"

"Well, everyone's thought like that at one time or another. But you don't always have to do something about it. I mean, if you hurt that person in order to get yourself better off, then just imagine how sad you could make that other person."

"But…why should you care about them anyway?"

"Even if you don't know them, you should think about how you would feel in their position. If you kicked someone out of their home, they would be sad and lonely, right?"

"I guess."

"Wouldn't you be sad and lonely?" Taunter turned to look at Noir for a moment, but he didn't answer. "Well? Wouldn't you?"

"Forget it. I'm tired, so I'm going to go to sleep now," Noir mumbled, facing the wall.

"Okay," Taunter smiled. "I'll be here."

…...

"It was…over here?"

"Should I really be trusting your sense of direction?"

"Uh…maybe?" Tai and Eric weren't having much luck finding what they were looking for. They were looking for the room that Noir had been in. It had been obvious that Taunter had been making up a story, and they wanted to see what was going on.

"I think that it was a right, then a left, then a right…" Tai was busy pondering a fork in one of the alleys, while Eric was looking around and mumbling something about how they should have just stayed on the sidewalk. "Wait, I've got it! This way!" Tai started off to the right, but then doubled back and went to the left. "Wait a…no, it was right after all!" He turned back around, then went down the right alleyway, Eric behind him and wondering whether they were going to be lost in the maze of alley forever. "Hang on…oh, here it is!"

"You finally figured out where we are?" Eric asked him, coming over.

"Yeah, it's right around this corner over here," Tai indicated where he was going, then sped around the corner. Eric paused before going, however, when he heard a crashing noise and a resounding "Ow!". He looked around the corner to see what had happened, only to see that it seemed to be that Tai had run right into Sam, who had been going in the opposite direction. Blake was standing behind Sam, looking surprised, while both Sam and Tai were sitting on the ground, also looking a bit taken off guard.

"Sorry about that," Tai smiled sheepishly, standing up and then holding out his hand to help Sam up.

"No problem, happens all the time," Sam let Tai help him up, then Eric came and joined the group. "So, what are you guys doing?"

"We were going to go see that room that Taunter keeps going to," Eric told him.

"Really? We're doing the same thing. Weird, huh?"

"Well, we might as well go together then, right?" Tai shrugged. "But, we're sorta lost…which way was it again?"

"That way," Sam said, pointing in the direction that he had been walking before.

"Oh, so it was that way…" Tai turned around, looking down the path that Sam had indicated.

"You should probably just let them lead," Eric suggested.

"Yeah, probably," Tai agreed with him. "Alright, let's go!"

"Hey, could we join?" came a shout from another alley. They all turned around and saw Cat and Echo approaching from the third of the four alleyways intersecting there. "We were planning on heading over there, too. So, the more the merrier, right?"

"Sure, we can all go," Sam nodded. "It's right over here." The six of them made their way through the alleys, turning a few times, until they finally came out into the alleyway that held the door that they had been looking for. "Well, here we are. I'm gonna look in through the window again." Sam climbed up onto the large box, and was soon enough joined by all of the rest of them besides Blake, who stood behind them and looked over everyone's shoulders whilst he wondered exactly how they were all fitting up there.

"See, look through the window," Sam told them, everyone trying to get a good look inside. "You can see Taunter in there, and someone is lying over there by the wall. I bet that it's Noir, and she's taking care of him or something."

"Huh…so this is why she keeps disappearing," Cat said, speaking her thoughts aloud.

"I guess so," Eric nodded. But it was at that moment that Taunter turned around and saw them. All of them froze for the moment, all of their faces still smushed up in the window. She made a face at them, and then stood up to go out and see what they were doing, whilst the group outside was trying to get down, but only succeeded in all falling off the box into a heap at Blake's feet. They all just barely managed to scramble up to their feet as Taunter came out of the door, and came around the corner to find all of them there, beaming innocently.

"Guys…" she sighed, seeming to be thinking about something. "Come inside. Now."

"Are we in trouble?" Tai asked as she began pushing the group that was around her size towards the door, with Blake walking behind the group.

"No, but as long as you saw _that_ much, you deserve to know what's going on," she replied. "Just come to the door, and you can look in. But be quiet, because he's sleeping." Taunter opened the door slowly and quietly, and everybody peered inside, crowding around the open doorframe as they had around the window. And just as they had expected, it was Noir who was sleeping over at the side of the room, totally unaware of them all staring at him.

"Wow," Cat said, looking inside inquisitively. "So, he's really still here, huh? Geez, he looks really beat up."

"He was even worse when I found him," Taunter explained. "I managed to bandage him up and do a pretty crappy job with stitches on his side, but he should be okay."

"Never thought that Spectre would have gone _this_ far," Sam said quietly. "I mean, I knew he was gonna knock him around a little, but this…this is a lot."

"Yeah, I was gonna talk to him about it later," Taunter nodded. "I'm not just gonna sit back and let this happen."

"Poor kid," Blake said, frowning.

"It's so weird to see him like _that_, though," Eric added. "I mean, especially since we used to be on the same team. Right now, he's all beat up and stuff…it's just so different."

"Kinda weird," Tai agreed. "Still, I can't help but feel sorry for him."

"Yeah, me too," Echo was of the same mind. "I mean, sure, the kid's kind of a dick sometimes, but still…this on the verge of just being cruel."

"Anyway, guys, I don't think that we should let anyone else know that he's here yet, okay?" Taunter asked them all. "I want to break it to everyone else _very_ slowly…as in, maybe one or two people at a time, if I can. 'Cause I know that there are still a few of our team who really, _really_ don't like him. I'm gonna try to tell the more sensible people first."

"Sounds good," Sam replied. "And don't worry, we won't tell anyone. You can just let 'em know when you're ready."

"Okay, thanks," Taunter smiled at them all. "Anyways, I was gonna go talk to Spectre now. Anyone know where he is?"

"I think that I saw him walking off further into the city. By himself," Blake answered. "Which might not be the _best_ idea in the world…but anyway, he went that way, I think." Blake indicated a direction outside of the alley. "But you should probably bring a bodyguard with you. Just in case."

"And I want someone to be here to guard Noir, okay?" Taunter asked. "Other than that, I think that the rest of you guys should head back. Since we don't want anyone to get suspicious of us. Who's going to stay here?" There was a general silence, and it lasted a long time. It seemed like not many of them fully trusted Noir yet, injured or not. He _could_ still use his eyes, after all, was their theory.

"Uh…I'll stay, I guess," Tai said after a moment. "I mean, I don't really have anything else to do. I just need to wait inside until you get back, right?"

"Mm-hm," Taunter nodded to him. "Thanks for helping!" And with that, she was off and around the corner, trying to find Spectre.

"Hey, wait, you still need a bodyguard!" Blake tried to stop her, but she was already out of earshot. "…Great."

…...

Taunter was walking down the street, going in a straight line and staying on the sidewalk so that she would be able to find her way back again. After a minute or so, she realized that she was all alone in a vaguely dangerous area, so she started whistling a bit of a random tune to herself as she walked, glancing around as she did so. And yet, the fact that the streets were empty and quiet other than the Commons milling around made things feel like it was normal. Back in the days when they didn't have to worry about attacks. Now, it pained her a bit to think of the fact that these Commons had a very high likelihood of getting burnt to a crisp. She continued her walking and whistling, but then quieted herself when she remembered that Cole might be prowling around, and her whistling would probably be more like a "hey, I'm over here" beacon. She shuddered at the thought of being found by Cole _alone_ and really started wishing that she had remembered to bring someone along with her. She was about to start doubling back to go get someone when she heard a noise and froze. She was starting to get nervous, and closed her mouth tightly, hoping that no anxious laughs or giggling could escape and alert others of her position. But when she listened to the sound again, she realized that it wasn't a dangerous sound at all. In fact, it was somebody singing. Taunter glanced around, then realized that it was coming from directly above her, from up in a balcony. She was wondering whether she should go up there or not, but decided that the voice didn't sound like Cole, so she might as well go check. She walked through the door and inside, then started up the stairs, pushing past a few Commons on the way, even saying "sorry" to one of them, whom she almost knocked down the stairs by accident. She could still hear the singing echoing through the hallowed halls of the building as she ascended the stairs, and could even make out the words at that point. She caught a small snatch of one of the verses.

"…Never let it show, the pain I've grown to know, 'cause with all these things we do, it don't matter when I'm comin' home to you…" came the voice echoing down to her ears. It sure seemed like a melancholy song. Taunter wondered: Would she have liked that song if she had found it before she became infected, back when she had an ipod? Maybe Valery had that song…Taunter shook herself out of her reveries. She couldn't relax just yet. Even if she could tell that it wasn't Cole, she still wasn't _quite _sure who it was yet. And so, she was careful as she climbed the steps. She tried to make as little noise as possible. At one point, as she went to a new flight of stairs, the singing began to grow quieter, so she went down to the floor she had been on, then proceeded into the hallway. She followed the voice until she came to a room with the door ajar. This looked like some sort of apartment building…who would be in here? She peeked around and into the doorway, looking straight through the apartment and out onto the balcony. There was someone out there, leaning on the handrail, and singing that same, sad sounding song…Wait…she knew who that was! She walked into the apartment, trying to be quiet, but tripped over a wire on the floor, sending the toaster on the counter crashing to the ground with a resounding "clank" and a "ding" as some overly well done toast flew out of the top and smacked into the opposite wall. Spectre, out on the balcony, turned around to see who was there in a flash, apparently expecting an attacker.

"H-Hang on, it's me!" Taunter said quickly, not wanting to get skewered by his claws. "I…er…heard you singing and decided to come see who it was."

"Uh…oh," Spectre said, not really knowing how else to reply.

"That song you were singing sounded kinda sad."

"Well, I guess you could say that."

"Yeah…" Taunter paused. This wasn't what she came here for! "Oh, right! Hang on, I've got something to say to you!"

"Hm?" Spectre looked at her expectantly. Taunter took a deep breath, steeling herself, and Spectre wasn't really sure what she was doing. "You had something to say?"

"I sure do! I have to say this: You're a…uh…you're a big jerk face!"

"A…what?"

"A big jerk face! A big violent jerk face!"

"A big violent jerk face. I see. Why is that?"

"Because you totally beat up on Noir! That's not cool! He's only eleven, you know! I asked him! And you nearly killed him! I mean, geez, ever hear of _child abuse_? If the infection hadn't killed all of the social workers, I would totally call them on you right now! You can't just go around beating up kids until they're on the verge of death! When I went in and found Noir, he was unconscious lying in a puddle of his own blood! I mean, geez! That sounds like something that someone like _Cole_ would do, but come on! We're the good guys here! And I know that Noir is on the other team, but you didn't have to go so overboard! I never wanted him to get beat up in the first place! And he had no way to defend himself against you 'cause you're a lot bigger than him and stronger than him and stuff and I bet that he was really scared! Did he ever tell you to stop? If he did, you should have! Don't you feel guilty at all about this? I mean, seriously, if _I_ ever for some reason did that, I wouldn't be able to live with myself! And it's not like Noir is all evil! I know that he's got good deep, deep down somewhere! I mean, and I've been taking care of him, and he's actually been really calm and stuff! Not like usual! It's not like he's a dick all the time, I just think that he's a bit pissed off for some reason, but I don't know why. Yeah. But anyway, beating up kids is just mean and cruel and…and…it makes you a big violent jerk face! So there!" Taunter simultaneously crossed her arms over her chest and took in a deep breath of air in order to punctuate the end of her tirade. There was a long pause.

"…Are you done now?" Spectre asked.

"Mm-hm," Taunter nodded. "Feeling guilty yet?"

"…Well, I'd like to apologize at least…"

"Apologize? Spectre, you nearly killed him! Apologies can't make up for that!"

"I didn't actually _mean_ to go that far…"

"What are you talking about? It's not like you were being controlled against your own free will. You beat him up because you wanted to."

"It sort of has to do with my genes…"

"What, so his jeans weren't stylish enough for you? You only like blue jeans? Well, great! Hang on, you don't even wear jeans!"

"No, not jeans, genes. As in your biological makeup."

"…Oh. I feel like an idiot now…but anyway, I still haven't heard your excuse yet!"

"I've got several different strains of infections in me. One of them being from a Witch, and because of that-"

"Hang on, this excuse sucks. Tai's got a bunch of different strains too, and you don't see him going crazy on people."

"I think that he has every type of strain, so they're less concentrated, and thus take less affect…but, what was I saying? Oh, right. Since I've got a concentrated amount of Witch strain, I can sometimes get a bit…you know. You know how Witches often go totally crazy when they attack someone and don't stop until they kill them?"

"Yeah…so?"

"So, yeah. It's because of my genetics. It's blood that sets it off. Noir didn't notice it, but when he first hit his head, he got a nosebleed. I've got no idea _why_, but he did. It was the blood that made my Witch genes go out of control. And I'm pretty sure that I _would _have ended up killing him if Calli hadn't stopped me."

"Hm…"

"Plus…I _was _pretty pissed off at him. He's been a real pest for our team so far. And he nearly killed Smoker."

"Yeah, but still…"

"How come you're defending him so much?"

"Well, someone has to! He's got no one to turn to! His whole team is full of jackasses, and I bet that that's what turned him into what he is now! I bet that he's never had anyone to care for him…"

"You know…you might be right."

"What are you talking about?"

"When I first warned him during the interrogation that if he didn't talk first, I would use violent measures, he said specifically 'adults have been hurting me my whole life anyway' or something like that. So I'm thinking now that he was probably referring to the time before he was infected."

"Hm…maybe he just joined Cole's team because they're the first ones that he found that were even remotely closer to his own age…"

"Well, either way, I still want to go apologize."

"Are you kidding?" Taunter looked up at Spectre's face in surprise. "Spectre, I'm pretty sure that if he sees you again, he'll be really scared. I mean, you beat him within an inch of his life. I know that _I_ would be scared if I were him."

"I guess that that's true…well then, what do you expect me to do?"

"Maybe just wait until he's healed up a little more. Right now I'm just trying to keep him comfortable. And honestly, he's acting more differently than usual. I'm thinking that maybe he knew how close he was to dying, and realized the fact that someone actually saved his life. But I don't know how long this will last, so I'm trying to keep a good balance here."

"Sounds alright. Still, I do feel kind of guilty…I want to apologize when I can."

"Okay, I'll tell you when I think that it'll be okay to come in, alright?"

"Sounds fine."

"By the way…why are you up here in this apartment?" Taunter asked, confusing Spectre a bit with her random change of subject.

"This is sort of where I go when I want to be alone. Kind of a hidey-hole," he replied. "Nothing much, I know."

"Huh…cool. Maybe we could use this as a stronghold at one point…if it's okay with you, that is. But anyway, I'd better get back to where everyone else is. I'll see you later!" She waved, and then was off again, out into the hallway and down the stairs. Spectre didn't even get a chance to say goodbye before she was gone. He shrugged, wondering why she was in such a hurry, then returned to the balcony.

…...

"Hey guys!" Taunter called, darting into the main area, where Sam and Blake were. "I'm okay so don't worry about me, alright? See ya!" And with that, she was gone again.

"What was that all about?" Hunter asked, turning to the brothers. The two of them shrugged in unison, and Hunter went back to what he had been doing before.

…...

Once Taunter arrived back at the room, she slowed her pace and took a few deep breaths to try to steady her heart rate once more. She carefully and quietly eased open the door, then went inside.

"I'm back," she said quietly, but was surprised when she got no reply. "Tai? Are you in here?" She looked around, and couldn't help but grin when she saw that Tai, too, had fallen asleep on one of the piles of sacks strewn around the room. He was already fast asleep, so apparently he must have been sleeping for a while now. Noir was still asleep as well. Taunter was happy that nothing bad had happened after Tai had fallen asleep, seeing as how she had put Tai there on _guard_ duty, yet he had fallen asleep anyway.

"Oh well, it's kinda cute," she said to herself as she sat down in between the two of them, having pulled up a pile of sacks of her own. She noticed that they both slept in a similar manner: When they were out, they were really out. Nothing was going to wake them up now. So, she leaned back against the wall behind her, and decided to daydream for a bit until at least one of them woke up. This was a good chance to rest after all, since Cole and his gang hadn't attacked recently. It was a time of temporary peace and quiet. And she was ready and willing to use it to the fullest.

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There are three things in this chapter that I find very epic. :D One, the fact that six people could look into that tiny window all at one time, all while standing on the same cardboard box… XD Two, Taunter's epic speech of angry-ness… XD And three, Tai's guard skills. :P He's the best guard ever, you guys just don't wanna admit it. XD Sorry that this chapter focused so heavily on only a few characters D: But this is going to be the time when I'm going to try to work out some of the important plot details having to do with developing relationships among the characters. And yes, that means that there might be a few chapters soon containing romance! :D Also, during this chapter, the bad guys were still discussing Cole's master plan. XD And Clawer and Healer were…off doing…uh…good guy stuff? I dunno. XD

Okay, listen up, guys! If you want your character to have any sort of special relationship with any other character (be it a friendly relationship, more of a pateral/maternal relationship, a romantic relationship, or a rivalry, all that stuff), you must PM me about it! Because this is the time when I'm doing character development! So if your characters don't have anything to develop, they won't be showing up as much as the others in the upcoming chapters. XD As for the romantic pairings, I already know most of them, so if you already have on, you don't need to remind me. ^^

Okay, now, question time!

For the good guys that went to see Noir: What are you gonna say to everyone else on the team to try to cover up exactly why Taunter keeps running off to Noir's room?

For the good guys who haven't gone to see Noir: Are you guys super duper suspicious about this room that Taunter keeps going to right now? Are you gonna go check it out? :D

For the bad guys: Well, as long as I'm doing all of the character development stuff…if your character was to change in any way throughout the story, how would they change, and why? And if they don't change, then also why? XD

Oh, and also! Here is a notice for ZombieFreaK: Yes, you may go ahead with your oneshot! :D As long as you use the proper disclaimer, then you're fine. ^^ Like I've said before, all forms of fan work are welcome! :3

Speaking of fan work, I'm going to be getting some of my drawings of the characters up on Deviantart eventually…I'm not quite done drawing them yet. But I'll tell you when they're posted. ^^


	15. Plans Beginning

Alright guys! Sorry this took so long! :3 Nothing really to say up here… X3 But, more shall be down below! (I bet that I had something to say…but right now there are two people shouting near me and won't shut up, and I can't concentrate…which is why the ending might sound weird…cause I had to write it while they were shouting. Sooo…yeah.)

And as usual, I haven't proofread this! Yaaaay! XD Lol. I'll probably proofread it later…like…weeks later…when I finally feel like it. XD So…yeah. Mistakes might be in there. :P

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam and Blake. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole, Gina, and Granny. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awsomedacious1 owns Lurker. A Little Help Here owns Spectre. Butters321 owns Echo. Golden-Gargoyle owns Cat.

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Cole had finally gotten to the point where everyone understood his plan, as complex as it was. The only problem was that at the moment, he was unsure if the group from the alley had moved yet. Their location was unknown, so they would have to search the city for them.

"Split up into groups of three or something," he called to his team. "Search the city and find them. But don't attack them. If you see them, come meet back here, and then we'll start the plan." Cole didn't get any audible response other than a few grumbles, but the rest of the team went about forming into groups anyway.

"Do you really think that this is going to work?" Gina asked, walking over to where Cole was standing.

"It's foolproof," Cole replied.

"Aren't _all_ of your plans supposedly 'foolproof'?"

"Well, this one's gonna work."

"Whatever you say…" Meanwhile, the rest of the team was milling about and forming into groups. Cole had miscalculated the numbers for each team a bit, since he had forgotten just how much their numbers had decreased as of recently. The teams that ended up being formed were Ivy, Shawn, and Lurker in one group, and Mauler, Hammer, and Jojo in the other, though the two more sensible members of the group knew that they wouldn't get _any_ covert work done with Jojo bouncing around everywhere. Cole and Gina became their own group, a bit stunted in numbers due to Noir's absence. Now that all the setup had been done, the groups split up. The first group going north, the second going south, and Cole and Gina going straight out from the entrance to the base. After the alleyway group was found, the plan could be put into action. And this time, Cole was sure that it wouldn't fail.

…...

Taunter had once again grabbed two shares of food and was off on her way to Noir's room when she was stopped at the edge of the open area by Mike and Valery.

"Uhh, hey guys," Taunter said, looking at them in confusion. "What's up?"

"We've sort of been wanting to ask you about something…" Valery replied. "Everyone has."

"Like what?"

"Here, come over to where everyone else is," Mike said, leading the way. "It won't take long, so don't worry." Taunter followed Mike and Valery over towards the other side of the area, where everyone else seemed to be waiting.

"Uh…hi," Taunter said, looking around awkwardly. "Am I in trouble or something?"

"Not in trouble," Boomer told her. "We just want to know why you keep on going back to that room every single day."

"I sorta like it there," Taunter answered with a shrug. "Is that so bad?"

"No, not necessarily…but is there something that you're not telling us about that room?"

"Something I'm not telling you…?" Taunter tried to think of something to say. "Um, nope, I don't think so."

"Listen, it's okay if you tell us, right?" Smoker asked. "We're all friends here."

"Well, if you must know!" to everyone's surprise, it wasn't Taunter who spoke, but Tai, who stood up, trying to look serious. "If you all want to know so bad, it's really a secret club! Which isn't all that secret anymore, but oh well! And you can only get in if your name starts with T!…or S. Or B. Or E…uh…or C…"

"My name starts with S," Smoker said, seeming confused. "There are a lot of people here who's names start with S…"

"Yeah, and my name starts with B," Boomer nodded.

"Well…uh…" Tai paused. "The…uh…application time is over! You can't join now. So…yeah, we're not just gonna break the rules for you guys, 'cause that would mess everything up! And so…yeah. That's it, I guess." When he was met by silence, Tai smiled sheepishly, then sank back down into his seat.

"As…believable…as that is, I think we'd like to hear the real story," Alan said after a moment of pause.

"Um…" Taunter paused, glancing around again.

"You might as well just tell them," she heard Spectre call from off at the side.

"Alright, fine," Taunter sighed, looking down at the ground. "I lied when I said that Noir was gone. He was really in the room when I went there. And he was about to die. So, I tried my best to bandage him up, and I tried to stitch up his biggest wound, but I did a pretty bad job of it…but either way, he's still alive, and yes, he's still in there. I've been taking care of him and bringing him food and stuff. B-But please don't do anything to him now that you know that he's in there! I mean, I know that he's not on our team, but…I just really care about him for some reason. I don't know why, but I do. Maybe it's just the fact that he's a kid, and he's wrapped up in all this…this fighting crap."

"But couldn't he be kind of dangerous?" Smoker asked in surprise. "I mean, he _has_ tried to kill a few of us in the past…"

"Yeah, Noir is bad news," Calli agreed. "Trust me, as soon as he feels better, he'll attack you!"

"No…I don't think he will," Taunter shook her head. "I mean, so far he's seemed…different. I don't know how, but…he just is. I think that the reason that he was so mean to us all the time was because he was just really angry for some reason. I mean, no eleven year old acts like that unless something's happened to them, right? But either way, just…just don't hurt him anymore. He's been through enough. So…yeah. That's all there is to it." There was a long pause. Taunter looked down at the ground a second time, then back up at her friends, then averted her eyes once again. What were they going to think about her helping an enemy? Sure, a few of them were fine with it, but what about the rest?

"What would we hurt him for anyway?" Hunter asked, breaking the silence. "It's not like we need him to tell us anything anymore."

"Was he really that badly hurt?" Smoker looked a bit concerned. "Is it because of me? Geez…"

"So…wait," Taunter said, seeming confused. "You guys aren't mad?"

"Mad? We're not mad at all. Why would we be?" Boomer replied with a question of his own. "As long as what you're doing what you think is right, we're fine with it." That statement was the unanimous agreement, apparently, seeing as how nobody objected to it.

"So…I can keep taking care of him?" Taunter smiled, happy that things had gone over so well.

"Well…as long as he doesn't do anything bad," Hunter said after a while. "He's still on the other team, so once he's on his feet again, he could be dangerous."

"Yeah, he's right," Calli nodded.

"You're…actually agreeing with me for once?" Hunter turned to Calli in slight surprise.

"Yeah. Why?"

"It's just weird, that's all…"

"Still, you _are_ right," Smoker said. "We're just going to have to be careful."

"Oh, and also, guys," Taunter cut in. "I know that a few of you might want to go see Noir, but there is one _tiny_ little problem. Seeing as how he got all beat up, he might be a bit freaked out…especially around adults, I'm guessing. So…I think that only teens or younger can go see him without totally freaking him out. 'Cause I know that I would be pretty scared if I were in his position. Either way, you guys might want to wait a day or two." Everyone seemed to agree with that, and so, it was decided. Noir would be allowed to stay in the room, and Taunter would still be able to take care of him as long as he didn't do anything suspicious. Taunter had talked to everyone, and it seemed like a few of them wanted to go see how Noir was doing, most among them unfortunately being a bit too adult-like, like Alan, Angel, and Spectre, and even Smoker, who was practically an adult himself anyway. Smoker was refused his right to go anyhow, simply because he wasn't supposed to be walking around anyway. Once the talk was over, and everyone went back to chit-chatting in small groups, enjoying the temporary peace, Taunter made her way back to the room where Noir was to see if he was awake or asleep. After all, she wanted to be able to tell him that people were going to be coming, and not make it "surprise hospital visit hour". Once she got back to the room and opened the door, looking inside, she saw that Noir was indeed awake, staring at the ceiling as if he had been thinking about something.

"Hey there, you're awake?" Taunter said as she walked inside.

"You were gone a pretty long time," Noir said in what was apparently meant to be a response.

"Really? Sorry about that. Um…well, Noir?"

"What?" Noir glanced over at her, and Taunter really became lost for words. She wasn't sure at all how he would react if she said that everyone suddenly knew that he was in there. What if he got scared? That would just makes things worse.

"Um…" Taunter paused, deciding to change the subject. "What were you thinking about before? You had a 'I'm thinking about stuff' face on before."

"I did?"

"Yeah. So, what were you thinking about?"

"Hm…well, just what you said yesterday."

"What did I say?"

"You were talking about how you don't have to hurt people."

"Oh, well, that's the truth! So far, I've gotten by in life without hurting a single person!…At least, I think so. Not physically at least. I can't remember anything before the infection either, so I guess that I can't really say…but, I'm not really one to forget things easily. I always feel really guilty if I ever hurt someone."

"Guilty?"

"Yeah. You know. It's that little nagging feeling that you get in the back of your mind when you do something bad. I get it a lot."

"But why? I mean, we're Infected for crying out loud. We're supposed to hurt stuff."

"Well, that's how it is in definition, I guess…but I would never want to hurt someone anyway. And I guess that when I said that I've never once hurt someone…that was kind of a lie…sorry. I just feel really guilty about it. I remember, the one time that I myself killed a survivor…it was only once, though. But I've always remembered it. There were two of them. A man and a woman. And when I managed to kill the man…well, the woman just started sobbing and screaming. Like her whole world had just come crashing down on her. And I just stood there and watched. I couldn't _believe_ what I had just done. After that…well, I've just tried not to get involved in fighting. I've told everyone that I don't know how to fight…and I really don't. But I have basic instinct, at least, so I have _that_ much when it comes to fighting experience. I just tell everyone that I can't fight so that I don't have to hurt anyone. Sometimes I have bad dreams about that woman, just crying and crying, forever…I always wake up in a cold sweat. And sometimes even _I'm_ crying. Nobody else has found out yet, though. But yeah…I feel pretty guilty about it." She paused for a moment, then turned to Noir, looking a bit embarrassed. "Well, geez, I'm just rambling on and on, aren't I? Hehe…sorry." Taunter waited for a response, but then didn't get one. "Uh…Noir?"

"…H-Huh?" he seemed startled, then looked over at her again. "What?"

"Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing…"

"Something's wrong, isn't it?"

"I said that there was nothing."

"Come on, be serious."

"Fine…I was just remembering…something."

"Remembering what?"

"Well…I was sort of in a situation like that one that you were in. I killed one of a pair, and the other got all weepy and stuff…but I didn't feel guilty at all. I was…I was laughing…and I didn't feel any guilt at all up until now…but now that I think about it again, I just…"

"…just what?"

"Nothing. It's nothing," Noir turned to face the wall again, and Taunter frowned. "Forget I said anything."

"Well, geez, Noir, are you gonna open up to me or not? I mean, one minute you're all talkative, then you're telling me to forget that you said anything," Taunter told him. "I mean, come on, you can talk to me, right?"

"Hey…aren't you mad at me?"

"Mad? Mad about what? Are you changing the subject?"

"No, I was just thinking about stuff that I've done, and I remembered that I poisoned you a while back…there weren't any side affects, right?"

"Side affects? Like what?"

"Well, sometimes it doesn't actually wear off all the way…"

"Oh, no, don't worry, I'm fine. But are _you_ feeling okay? You're acting kind of different from usual."

"Maybe I'm just tired. I should get some more sleep."

"Alright, I'll leave you alone, then," Taunter nodded, standing up from where she was sitting. "See you in a little while." She didn't get an answer as she left the room, closing the door gently behind her. Still, she didn't mind.

_It seemed like Noir was really thinking about what he's done in the past,_ Taunter thought as she walked back towards where all the others were. _Maybe he's actually going to change! That would be great! Ooh, maybe he'll even join our team! Well, I shouldn't get my hopes up, but still…_ Once she got back to where everyone else was, she was a bit confused at seeing how troubled they looked.

"What's up?" she called as she walked over.

"Something happened," Mike told her. "Something really weird."

"Really weird? Like what?"

"It's Cole," Valery said. "He wants to _negotiate_."

"I don't believe him for a single second," Cat frowned. "He's obviously lying!"

"Where is he?" Taunter looked around quickly, worried that there might be fireballs raining down on them at any second.

"He's not here. He left as soon as he told us," Echo told her. "It's just plain weird."

"Yeah, it _is_ weird," Tai nodded, agreeing with her. "I mean, Cole _never_ does talking instead of fighting."

"He has something up his sleeve," Eric said, also adding in his own bit. "If he's going with diplomacy, I just _know_ that he's got something else planned."

"But we'll be ready for him, right?" Calli grinned. "We can set our own traps, and catch him off guard!"

"Well, he'll be coming tomorrow morning, so if we expect to be ready, we'd better start setting up," Boomer stood from his seat atop a box. "Let's get moving."

…...

"Are all the gas cans set?"

"Yeah, I think that I got them all in the right places."

"This'll give _them_ a surprise…"

"Yeah…but…Clawer?" Clawer looked up when Healer said his name.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"How do I use this?" she held up the shotgun that they had found on the side of the street, still feeling unsure about it. "I mean, I know that we need this the blow up the gas cans, but…"

"You hold it like this," Clawer showed her, picking up the gun for a moment. "Then, when you're ready to shoot, pull the trigger here."

"Okay…I think I got it," Healer nodded as Clawer placed the gun back down. "So…can we go over the plan one more time?"

"Sure. So, I'm going to go down there at the back of their crappy base, and when they come back around the front, I'll be a distraction, luring them inside the base, then you shoot the gas cans in there after I run away from the base. Then, Cole and all his gang will be caught in the blast."

"Okay."

"Alright, I'm going to head down there. Good luck." Clawer patted Healer's shoulder, then made his way down to the ground. Healer put the end of the shotgun up onto her shoulder, preparing herself for her attack. She was still unsure whether she could do this or not, but she knew that she had to. This would be the end of Cole, and the end of his team. And the end of all of their troubles. They waited a few minutes, and then they heard it. They could hear Cole's team coming. Voices were coming down an alleyway, and that signaled the start of the plan. Healer steeled herself. This was it. She was going to have to kill to protect her friends.

"Hey, Cole!" Clawer was shouting. "I can't believe how stupid your base is! I mean, seriously, what a piece of shit!" Cole and everyone behind him stopped, looking a bit surprised.

"Well, well, well, look who it is!" Cole couldn't help but smile. "To think that you would show your face around here, by yourself, in our territory! So, where's your girlfriend?"

"It's just me and you this time, Cole! In fact, you're so wimpy that I bet that I could take down you _and_ your whole team at the _same time_!" Clawer gave a mocking smirk, and Cole could feel his temper rising. Still, this could be a good opportunity. Clawer and Healer had been asking for it for a long time. Now, even though Healer wasn't there, Clawer was. And if Clawer was killed, then Healer would be all the easier to beat.

"Well then, Clawer. If you're so eager to _die_," Cole started to come forward. "And if you're so confident that you can beat all of us, let's just see!" Cole took off towards Clawer, running straight through the base. His team, taken off guard, was slow to react, and not as near to the base as Cole, though some of them still followed, while a few stayed behind to watch. Clawer turned on his heel, then ran for the alley behind the base.

"Healer, NOW!" he shouted as loud as he could manage. Healer, up on the roof, heard him, and pulled on the trigger as hard as she could, aiming for the gas cans piled in the corner of the base. The kickback on the gun when it fired combined with the loud noise it made right next to her ear made her squeal a bit in surprise and fall over backwards, also dropping the gun, but the bullet flew out of the gun barrel nonetheless, flying for the gas cans. Cole stopped in his tracks, but before he knew it, he was engulfed in flames. The rest of his team was out of range, and screeched to a halt.

"Yes!" Clawer shouted, punching the air in enthusiasm. "That's right! Take that!" And with that, he was off into the alley to rendezvous with Healer.

"Alright, I've gotta go meet up with him," Healer quickly grabbed the gun again after having dropped it, then started her way down from the roof. Cole's team stood by the flaming base, a bit stunned by what had just happened.

"Uh…so…is he dead?" Ivy asked, looking at the fire along with everyone else.

"No, he's fine," Gina shook her head. "Remember? He's fireproof."

"That's right!" came a shout from inside the flames. Cole emerged from the inferno, still on fire, but the flames on his body soon dissipated. "Did they really think that _that_ would kill _me_? They must be _really _desperate." Cole wiped some ashes off his shoulder as he walked over to his team. "Still, this calls for a change in base, it seems…I was getting bored of this place anyway. Let's go find somewhere better." Cole turned without waiting for an answer, beginning to walk down the street.

"Guess we're finding a new place then…?" Shawn yawned, following as the group began leaving.

"Geez, he's practically indestructible, huh?" Hammer said to Mauler, the two of them at the back of the group.

"It seems to be so," Mauler replied. "And I've got a feeling that the other team is in for way more than they bargained for. There's a storm coming…they'd better hope that they're ready."

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It's DONE! Omg. That took a long time. Sorry. x_x But either way, no matter how long it took, it's done! Yay! I'm glad that I finally got this posted. XD Alright, anyway…

I've gotten a bunch of requests for pairings and relationships and developments and such, and if you haven't sent in anything yet and still want something, you'd better hurry and suggest it!

And also, due to my bored-ness and such, I've got a suggestion for YOU GUYS! 8D Alright, now I know that there are a lot of you who are artists! Okay, so for you artists out there, I've got a challenge for you! Your mission, if you choose to accept it, will be to draw a cover for any one of the chapters! Pick any chapter from either this or the prequel, and draw what you think would look like a cool cover for it if it were a manga! You just need to draw any kind of cover you'd like, as long as it has the name of the story and chapter on it! :3 And the people who actually draw stuff will get free oneshots from me! :D Sooo…yeah. Get drawing, artists! X3 (Lol. I've got "overly pushy disease". XD)


	16. Negotiations?

Omgggg…lol a FLOOD of character development in this chapter, I'd say lol XD Phew…sorry this took so long. D: School is killing me! x_x But, I finally got it done… ^^; (so says the author as she writes this before she starts writing the chapter XD) Well, anyway, about the updates, I'll try to get in at least one each week, okay? Anyway, enjoy the chapter! ^^

Note: I'm already past my bedtime! 8D Stupid school… DX So, there will be no proofreading of this chapter until further notice! :3 Deal with it lol XD

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam and Blake. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole, Gina, and Granny. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awsomedacious1 owns Lurker. A Little Help Here owns Spectre. Butters321 owns Echo. Golden-Gargoyle owns Cat.

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Another day had come. They seemed endless, these days. But not like the ones they had had before. Before, they had seemed like endless days of fun and relaxation. Now, they had changed completely. Everyone was stressed out and tired, and Healer and Clawer were still missing. And now, Cole had requested negotiations. But obviously he had something up his sleeve. This probably wasn't going to be some peaceful kind of confrontation. Noir was left in his room while everyone waited in the area to meet with Cole, and whoever he brought with him.

"He's late," Hunter grumbled, glancing up at the height of the sun to try to gauge the time. "I bet he's not even coming."

"Do you think that this is just a distraction?" Smoker asked, sitting up against a building wall. "Maybe he's off somewhere else setting up a trap."

"All we can really do is wait and see," Valery shrugged, taking a seat on a box near one of the walls. The group was waiting for a few minutes, but finally, they heard footsteps. Then, they saw the leather jacket clad Infected at the end of the entrance alley. Cole was coming in, his hands in his jacket pockets, walking at a slow and leisurely pace that seemed to do nothing more than make the group feel even more uncomfortable. Cole stopped once he felt that he had gotten close enough to the group to talk.

"What's with all of your faces?" Cole's mouth turned up into a half-smile. "Why're you all so serious? We're just talking, aren't we?"

"Just say what you have to say already," Sam said to him, speaking for the whole group.

"Hang on, slow down," Cole said, looking around the whole group. "There's no need to go so fast, right?" As he surveyed the Infected opposite him, his eyes fell upon Tai and Eric. "So, Tai, Eric. How's the new team treating you? Going traitor must be pretty fun for you guys, huh?" Cole's voice sounded calm enough, but his eyes pretty much said "I'm going to fucking kill you for deserting".

"One thing's for sure," Eric called over to him. "This team sure is better than yours."

"Really, now? That's weird…I thought that I had a pretty good situation for you guys."

"Whatever. We're not going back to your team, so don't think that you can convince us."

"That's too bad…" Cole said, trailing off for a moment. As the conversation went on, Hunter was glancing around, trying to see if anyone else was around, and noticed that some of Cole's team were up on the roofs. They weren't doing anything visibly bad, but that could mean anything. He pretended that he hadn't noticed, trying to figure out some way to alert the rest of his team.

"Even you, Tai. I'm surprised," Cole continued. "I mean, even after I saved your _life_, right? This sure is some way of repaying me, huh?" Tai didn't say anything, but was looking troubled.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Taunter cut in. "Geez, Cole, just tell us what you came to tell us, then leave!"

"Harsh…" Cole said quietly, not seeming really affected by the outburst. "Fine. I'll talk. Let's 'negotiate'. I heard that you guys have Noir somewhere around here, right?"

"Yeah, he's around here," Smoker answered. "And I'm guessing that you want him to come back to your team."

"Duh."

"Well, he can't stand up yet," Taunter frowned at Cole. "He's really badly hurt, and he can't walk for a while now. So you're just going to have to wait."

"Well, there _was_ one other thing that I wanted to talk about besides him," Cole said, apparently changing the subject. "I wanted to talk about you guys leaving."

"We aren't leaving, so just forget that!" Calli said before Cole could get any further. "We were here first! Why don't you just go find some other town?"

"But this place is so _nice_," Cole smirked. "So much stuff to _burn_. And plenty of free food wandering around out there on the streets…"

"That's terrible!" Valery shouted at him. "Ugh, I don't even want to _think_ about that!"

"Whatever. I like this place, but I can't say that I like you guys. And I've never really been one to just back down before."

"Okay, these _aren't_ negotiations," Boomer cut in. "Either make a compromise with us, or go away."

"I don't do compromises."

"Then, go away."

"I don't plan to do that either."

"Well then, what _do_ you plan to do?" Mike asked, sounding irritated.

"I'll ask you just one more question," Cole replied to the question. "Are you going to leave, or not?"

"We're not leaving," came the resolute answer from several members of the other group at once.

"Well," Cole crossed his arms, a light smile coming onto his face. "That's too bad." He raised a single hand in the air, then clunks resounded around the open area. As everyone looked around, Cole's team up on the roofs were visible now. And then, they looked to the ground. Cans of something had been dropped to the ground, and now, a translucent brown liquid was leaking out of them, quickly saturating the area.

"What the…?" Jeffry said quietly, looking around at the strange liquid surrounding them. "What is it?"

"Wait…" this time it was Spectre who spoke. Cole's small smile broke out into a full fledged grin, outstretching both arms towards the mess. "It's gasoline! Everyone, MOVE!" There was a general scattering just before the gasoline burst up into flames. Everyone had managed to get into a back alley, Calli helping Smoker. But suddenly, Taunter paused, turning around.

"What are you doing?" Hunter turned to look at her.

"I have to go back to get Noir!" she said quickly, taking a temporarily clear path through the fire, heading towards where Noir was.

"Wait! You can't go that way!" Hunter shouted, trying to follow her, but he was blocked off by a sudden burst of fire. He could see that she had somehow made it safely over into the other alleyway, but he was still worried. She really needed to stop running off by herself like that…

"I have to go after her," he said when the others started urging him on to follow them.

"You can't," Smoker told him firmly. "There's fire _and_ Cole in the way that way, and all of his goons are on the roofs. There's no safe way to get over to where she is now. Not unless we go around."

"But that'll take too long!"

"We've got no choice. Now, come on. We've got to hurry."

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Taunter had managed to safely reach Noir's room, and she opened the door as fast as she could.

"What's going on?" he asked when she came in with such an urgent look on her face.

"We're under attack, and the buildings are about to catch on fire," she explained quickly. "This one will, too. You've gotta come with me."

"But what if the stitches come out when I stand…?"

"We've got no choice, we've got to go! Don't worry, I'll help you along." Taunter went over to him, pulling his arm up over her shoulder and heaving him up out of bed.

"Ow…" he winced, holding his side with his free hand.

"Just try and bear with it for a while," Taunter said, bringing him outside. "We've gotta get out of here." But just as the two of them were outside, they were met by three obstacles: Shawn, Ivy, and Lurker.

"Oh…crap…" Taunter looked back and forth between the three.

"You're in deep shit," Shawn smirked, holding up his whistle, but not blowing on it just yet. Surprisingly enough, Noir wasn't saying anything. These were his old teammates…shouldn't he have been saying something to them? He wasn't even making a move to let go of Taunter.

"Are you going to give up easily? Or do we have to fight?" Ivy asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"I'll…I-I'll never give up without a fight!" Taunter said firmly. "No way will I ever give up!"

"I bet you can't even fight," Lurker said with a disbelieving look. Taunter was confused. As long as she was holding Noir like this, wouldn't they be going easy on her so _not_ to hit him? Still, she knew that she wouldn't be able to fight. There were three Infected here, all of them skilled fighters…But it was at that moment that pounding footsteps could be heard. The three facing Taunter and Noir turned only just in time to see a huge arm flying at them. They were all knocked aside and against the wall, and before anyone knew what was happening, Taunter and Noir felt themselves being scooped up in the very same arms that had just saved them.

"Angel?" Taunter asked in surprise, looking up at the face of the blonde Tank. "I thought that you were with everyone else!"

"I had a feeling that you'd get in trouble," he said, looking concerned. "I'm going to bring you two over to where everyone else went." He started down the street, but was soon cut off. It was Hammer and Mauler this time.

"Hand Noir over," Mauler said firmly and forcefully. "Now." Angel looked down at Noir for a moment, but it was impossible to tell what he was thinking by his face. Instead, it was Taunter who spoke.

"You guys never even took care of him!" she shouted at Mauler and Hammer. "I mean, seriously! He's gonna stay with us until he gets better, then he gets to choose where he's going to go!"

"Gets better?" Hammer questioned.

"He got pretty beat up…"

"So, you _did_ injure him after all, then…" Mauler looked angry now, and Angel wasn't quite sure if he'd be able to fight off two other Infected _while_ holding Taunter and Noir.

"He's going to be alright," Angel said after some deliberation. "There's no need to get mad. He's being taken good care of-"

"You wouldn't have had to do that if you hadn't hurt him in the first place!"

"It wasn't exactly a group decision…"

"That doesn't mean a thing!"

"We should leave it up to Noir," Hammer said to Mauler, who paused.

"Fine," Mauler answered. "Noir, what do you want to do? Are you going to come back with us? Or are you going to stay with them?" All eyes turned to Noir, who seemed a bit too quiet to be acting normal. He had to think for a while before he came up with something to say.

"W-Well, you guys kicked me out in the first place, so why do you care if I come back or not?" Noir asked the two from Cole's team.

"Everyone was just stressed and placing false blame," Mauler replied. "And though they didn't want to admit it, I'm sure that they're worried about you."

"Worried? No way! It doesn't matter that you guys didn't say anything, but everyone else totally mouthed off at me!"

"Would you really stay with the team that injured you so badly?"

"That was only one guy. A-And I haven't seen him since then."

"But he's still there."

"I…I don't know, okay? Geez!"

"Noir…you can go back if you want," Taunter said, turning to face him, but looking sad. "I mean…I was kind of hoping that you'd stay with us…but I can understand why you'd want to leave."

"Well…I don't know…it's not like that guy's gonna do it again, right?"

"He actually told me that he wanted to apologize to you."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Would you really trust them, Noir?" Mauler cut into the conversation. "You've only just met them, and even if they've been taking care of you, I bet that they have some sort of ulterior motive that they're not telling you about. On the other hand, you've known all of us for much longer."

"But can I say that you've ever taken care of me?" Noir asked coldly, glancing over at Mauler and Hammer. "I don't think so."

"Noir, they're obviously lying to you!"

"Well…well, if they are, then…I don't care, okay? Even if they are lying, at least…yeah."

"At least what?"

"Nothing."

"So then, you're going with them?"

"…Yeah." There was a long pause after Noir gave his reply. Nobody moved or said anything.

"Well…if that's your choice, then we'll listen," Hammer was the one who broke the silence. "And if you're not coming back with us, then there's no real reason for us to be here, is there? Go ahead through." Hammer walked forward, and right past Angel, on the way back to the new base that they had found.

"If you change your mind…just come find the team. We've moved to a new base, though," Mauler also passed by Angel, seeming disgruntled.

"Let's go to where everyone else is," Taunter said, and Angel nodded, beginning to head back to the rest of the group.

"He's so naïve…" Mauler sighed as he and Hammer walked away. "He's going to regret his choice. But we've no right to deny him that freedom of choice."

"So, wait," came a voice from across the street. "You guys _didn't_ stop them?" The two turned to see Ivy coming out of an alley from across the street. "Hmph. How stupid."

"Where are Shawn and Lurker?" Hammer asked.

"Already heading back. They thought that you would take care of it."

"Well, we didn't."

"I can see that. Hey…and where's Jojo?"

"Jojo?" Mauler asked, not knowing what she was talking about for a moment, then realizing. "Oh. Jojo." He looked around. The Jockey was nowhere to be seen. "Damn it all…we forgot all about him! He could be anywhere now!…We'll have to go look for him, I suppose." Mauler walked off grumbling something, and Hammer followed behind, knowing that they should have been paying more attention to the hyperactive little fellow…

"Yet another day of great failure," Ivy rolled her eyes, starting on her way back to the base, not wanting to have to deal with Jojo. "Just great."

…...

"Noir, why didn't you go with them?" Taunter asked as Angel carried her and Noir back over to where everyone else was at the moment situated.

"I just didn't want to, I guess," was Noir's response.

"But why didn't you want to?"

"Basically everyone on Cole's team seems to hate me at this point, so there isn't really any point in going back anyway."

"Are you sure that that's your only reason?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I don't know. You just seemed to have something else on your mind." Noir didn't say anything, and just at that moment, they arrived.

"You're okay!" Cat was the first to speak, jumping up immediately when she saw Angel rounding the corner. "What a relief!" She and several others jogged over, crowding around as Angel put the two he was carrying down.

"Thanks, Angel," Taunter smiled up at the Tank. "You're a really nice guy, you know that?" Angel smiled back at her as well, and seemed really happy.

"So, what happened?" Calli asked, pushing her way through the crowd to get to the front.

"Are you okay? They didn't hurt you right?" Hunter was shouting, pushing his way in front of everyone, including Calli.

"No, I'm fine, so don't worry," Taunter told him.

"Geez…don't make me worry like that…"

"You were worried?"

"Well…maybe just a little bit…"

"But what _happened?_" Calli asked again, pushing Hunter out of the way.

"I was trying to get Noir out of the way of the fire when three of Cole's team members came to attack me. But Angel saved us from them, and he was carrying us away when we ran into two other members, and they just wanted Noir to come back. But he didn't want to go, so we let him come back with us."

"You didn't want to go?" Jeffry asked Noir inquisitively, and all eyes turned to the blonde once again.

"Uh…well…" Noir seemed to be having great difficulty to talking to the group, and took a long pause to try to collect himself. "I just…well, everyone else on Cole's team were all basically jerks…so I'd much rather be here, I guess. Yeah. And I know that _I've_ kinda been a jerk to you guys, so…yeah. I'm…uh…"

"You're apologizing?" Taunter asked him.

"Yeah. That's it," Noir nodded. There was a long pause once again.

"Hey, it's okay, I guess," Smoker was the one who broke the silence. "I mean, I'm fine. And you're fine. We're all okay. And if you'd rather be here, and then I'll respect that, as long as you promise not to hurt anyone again. Sound good?" Noir didn't say anything, but glanced around, then nodded. There was another pause, but then, someone spoke.

"Sorry for being so hard on you," it was Calli. "I know that you got hurt pretty bad. I was just really mad, and wasn't thinking. So…yeah. Now that, you know, you're gonna be good and stuff, maybe we could…start to get along? Maybe be friends?" Noir seemed as surprised as he had ever been. Someone actually asking to be his friend? Where the heck had this come from?

"Uh, s-sure," he said, recovering from his momentary freeze of surprise. The group started talking again, a few of them warming up to Noir, Alan walking over and saying that he would try to patch up his injuries later, fixing Taunter's temporary job, when a voice broke the silence.

"You should have just let him go with them!" Everyone turned to look at who had spoken. It was Mike, sitting on top of a crate on the other side of the area. "And if he 'didn't want' to go, you should have just _made_ him go."

"Mike…he's turning over a new leaf," Smoker frowned.

"He almost _killed_ you, Smoker! Remember?" Mike asked incredulously. "He's hurt so many of us so many times, and now you're suddenly all buddy-buddy with him? Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously," Taunter nodded. "He's already apologized to everyone, and he apologized to me once before, too."

"You think that apologies mean anything?" Mike questioned them, standing up. "He's one of the main people on Cole's team. He's going to worm his way into your trust, then he's just going to betray you without a second thought."

"He's not gonna do that!"

"Oh, yes, he will! Just you wait! I mean, he's some little kid that has fun hurting people. That's not normal. He's nothing but a monster!"

"Mike, come on…" Valery said, starting to walk over to him, followed by Jeffry. "You can't just say that…"

"We're all tired, hurt, being chased by maniacs, and now you're just welcoming him in here?" the amount of stress pulling on Mike was visible in his face when he spoke. "I mean, one minute he'll be all nice, and the next he'll be-stop it, don't touch me!" Mike swung out at Valery and Jeffry when they got near, forcing them to take a step or two back. "I can't take this anymore, I'm going!" And without another word, Mike was gone, having run off down an alley before anyone could say anything. Yet another pause.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sam asked, walking over to Valery.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Sam," she nodded. "How about you, Jeffry?"

"I'm okay," Jeffry replied.

"Things just keep getting _better_ and _better_," Smoker sighed heavily. Taunter looked at Noir, and it looked like something was wrong.

"Noir?" she asked, tapping his shoulder.

"I think…I think I'm about to throw up," Noir said quickly, then limped over into the nearest alleyway.

"Huh?" Taunter asked in surprise, following him in. "Hey, are you okay-oh my God!" Retching noises could be heard from inside the alley, and no one else went inside, not wanting to bother Noir further. Whatever had gone on for him, it wasn't something good. And they didn't want to make it any worse.

"Noir? What is it? What happened?" Taunter asked worriedly.

"It's okay…I'm fine," he said after a moment, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "It's just…when he called me a monster, it reminded me of someone else…and it was like every single bad thing I've done in my whole life just flew right back at me and slapped me in the face or something. I don't know."

"Ohh…" Taunter bit her lip, unsure of what to do. "We should really let Alan take a look at you. You might be sick."

"No, no, I'm fine…"

"Well, whatever you say…do you just want to go sit down for a bit?"

"Sure…that sounds good."

…...

Mike was running through the city at his top speed, looking for two people: Clawer and Healer. He was going to help them get rid of Cole's team, seeing as that's what he guessed that they were doing. Nobody else was doing anything. And he wanted to take action. And in just a minute or two, he found who he was looking for.

"Hey!" he called out to the two of them, screeching to a halt. Clawer and Healer stopped, and looked over at him. "I was looking for you guys. You're trying to get rid of Cole's team right? I want to help."

"We're done with that now," Clawer called back. "We tried, but it looks like it didn't work. We're going to look around for everyone else now. See if we can find them. I bet that they need our help, seeing as we've been gone for so long."

"I hope that nobody got too badly hurt…" Healer added quietly. Mike had a strong urge to tell them that Noir had nearly killed Smoker, but for some reason, he didn't.

"Well, I'm not going to go back with you guys. I need a break from the team," Mike told them. "…See you." And with that, he was off again, a blur running into another alley.

"What was up with that?" Healer asked in confusion.

"I don't know," Clawer shrugged. "But he came from that way, so everyone else must be over there. Hopefully they've ditched those two liars by now…"

"Come on, let's just go," Healer urged him along. "We're both really tired, and it'll be nice to see them again."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go."

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Mwahahahaha! IT'S DONE! FINALLY! *passes out* Sorry it took soooo long. ^^; You can probably expect a chapter per week…I think…geez, school is killing me! Seriously! It's only the first week, and I've already been driven half insane by the amount of work! x_x But that's not out of the ordinary lol. XD Oh, and I also realized that I forgot to put a question in the last chapter! D: Lol I'm so forgetful sometimes… X3

Okay guys, last call for developments for your characters! If you want your character to do anything specific, or want something to be revealed about them or whatever, NOW is the time to tell me! :D Anyway, time for the questions for the chapter! :3

For the good guys: So, how does your character feel about Noir joining? Do they trust him? Are they gonna warm up to him steadily or try to keep away from him?

For the bad guys: Are you angry that your "blow everyone up" plan didn't work? D: And what about Noir? Do you think he's going to go traitor? Or do you think he'll come back once he's healed up?


	17. Revelations

Yaaaay new chapter! :3 Yaaaay. -w- Lol I really don't have much to say today. *tries to think of stuff to say* Uhhh…nope, I've got nothing. XD Enjoy the chapter! XD

Note: Lacks proofreading. As always. 8D

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam and Blake. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole, Gina, and Granny. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awsomedacious1 owns Lurker. A Little Help Here owns Spectre. Butters321 owns Echo. Golden-Gargoyle owns Cat.

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It had been an hour or two, and everyone had calmed down. Mike still hadn't come back, and nothing very significant had happened since the uproar when he left. So now, they were missing three team members. Where were Clawer and Healer anyway? When were they coming back? _Were_ they even coming back in the first place?

"How does it look?" Taunter asked Alan while he examined the main wound of Noir's side. Noir had uneasily let him come over and give him a quick check-up, but he looked like he was seriously uncomfortable about it.

"Well, it _has_ started healing," Alan replied. "But we'll need to redo the stitching. And we're going to need fresh bandages, too. If you wear the same ones for too long, they can get dirty or infected…"

"A bit late for the 'infected' part," Sam said with a humorless laugh, though trying to raise the group's spirit's a bit.

"Is there a hospital around here where we could get supplies?" Alan asked, looking out over the group to see if anyone knew the answer.

"I know where one is," Boomer told him. "It's actually pretty nearby to here. A few of us can take Noir there."

"I should probably go, too," Taunter stood up Alan was getting ready to leave. "I…uh…well, I'm the one who messed up the stitching in the first place…so, yeah. And Noir, after that, we can get you some new clothes to replace your old ones, since they got all ripped up."

"Uh, okay," Noir said, allowing Taunter help him up. "I don't really see any problem with these…"

"But they're practically ripped apart! You definitely need some new stuff. Change is good once in a while, right?"

"Yeah, I guess…"

"So, let's see…anyone else wanna come with us?" Taunter asked, looking out at the group.

"I will," Valery stood up, smiling. "I needed a walk, anyhow."

"Okay, sounds good. Let's go!" The group of five, Taunter, Valery, Boomer, Noir, and Alan headed out of the area, into an alley, and out onto the street, on their way to the hospital.

"I'm surprised that you didn't want to go," Sam said, smirking over at Hunter.

"Shut up," Hunter grumbled, turning away. "It's not like there's any reason to be worried or anything."

"Well, I don't know, there's-" Sam cut himself off when he heard footsteps in one of the nearby alleys. Everyone fell silent. Two pairs of footsteps were coming towards them. And they had no idea who it might be. It might be some of their own, coming back because they forgot something, or it could even be Cole, walking right into their midst. But it was neither of those things.

"We're back!" Healer called as she and Clawer entered the space that the team was sitting in. Everyone looked at them in surprise, then several of them went over to meet them, throwing at them a flurry of questions of where they had been, what they had been doing, and all of the other basics that needed to be known.

"We were out trying to mess up Cole's team," Healer explained. "It didn't work out too well, but we decided that you guys probably missed us and needed us, so we came back."

"Just in time, too!" Calli said quickly. "Some of us got really hurt while you were gone!"

"Of course…" Healer sighed with a weak smile. "Well, I'll do my best to heal anyone who's hurt, okay?"

"Hey," Clawer said, breaking off all other conversations. "What are _they_ still doing here?" His glare was firmly fixed on Eric and Tai. This wasn't going to turn out well.

"Listen, they've seriously switched sides," Smoker tried to explain quickly. "First of all, they helped Jeffie, and also they don't seem like the traitorous type. I seriously trust them."

"What, so do all of you trust them?" Clawer asked, looking around. "Ridiculous. This same thing happened back with our old group. A few new team members joined. Said that they would always be loyal friends. The next thing we knew, they stabbed us in the back, revealing our location to Cole and his gang. And it wasn't long after that that all of our friends were burned to ashes. And the same thing is going to happen now!"

"Listen, we _aren't_ on Cole's side anymore!" Eric said speedily. "We left his team for good!"

"Bullshit. You're a couple of liars, huh?"

"No, we're not lying!" Eric objected, seeming annoyed. "Right, Tai?"

"Huh? Oh, y-yeah," Tai said after a pause, seeming more on the nervous side.

"That didn't sound very convincing," Clawer raised an eyebrow. "Well, I warned you that if you didn't leave, I'd have to _force_ you to leave…"

"But…maybe they really _are_ on our side," Healer said quietly. "I mean, if they've been here for so long, without anything bad happening…"

"You can't just trust them that easily…I'm taking care of this now!" Without warning, Clawer charged, and Eric and Tai both scrambled out of the way, splitting off into separate alleys.

"Hey! Hey, stop it!" Smoker shouted at Clawer, unable to help due to his injury as the whole team ran over to try to stop Clawer. Just as the first bout of chaos had finished, yet another one was beginning…

…...

"Huh…you know, come to think of it, I haven't been inside a hospital since before the infection," Taunter said, thinking aloud. "Wonder what it'll be like…"

"Hospital-y?" Valery shrugged. "I wonder if we'll even be able to find anything that we can still use in there…some Commons might have gotten inside and trashed the place. Oh well, I bet we'll find something."

"Are you holding up okay, Noir?" Taunter asked as she helped Noir along.

"Yeah, I think," he answered. "I just have to be careful not to open it up again…geez, I hate when this happens."

"Huh? The way you said that makes it sound like it's happened before," Valery said, seeming surprised.

"Oh, it has," Noir replied in a voice that sounded a bit too casual to fit the answer.

"It has? When?"

"Well…you know. Sometime before now." Valery shrugged at seeing that Noir wasn't going to say anything else, and decided not to ask into it further. Soon enough, the reached the looming building of the hospital, and Alan walked up to the sliding door, grabbing the barely ajar edge and tugging it over to the side so that they could enter.

"I don't know my way around the hospital, though," Boomer told Alan as they went inside. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine," Alan replied. "We should be able to find just what we need inside one of the inner rooms." Valery paused for a moment and turned, seeing that Taunter was still standing outside. Noir stopped as well, suddenly realizing that the girls who had been walking at either side of him were gone all of a sudden, and he too turned back.

"What's wrong?" Valery called outside.

"I don't know…" Taunter said slowly. "I just…I'm getting kind of a weird vibe from this place."

"A weird vibe?"

"Yeah…I don't know why, though. I've never even been here before…and I couldn't have been here before the infection either, since I came from the other town…right?"

"Maybe you'll remember something once you come inside," Valery shrugged again. "Come on, we'd better hurry. We don't want to keep everyone else waiting."

"Sure," Taunter smiled a bit halfheartedly, stepping through the open sliding doors and inside. The group continued on in, and down a hallway, but Taunter stopped near the front desk, still feeling pretty confused. There was just this weird feeling that she was getting from this place…nothing that made her feel scared or nervous, but something else entirely. She glanced around a bit, not noticing when the rest of the group turned a corner without her.

"Geez, there's just something about this place…" she mumbled to herself, taking a walk around the lobby. She peeked into cupboards, opening drawers and examining their contents. Nothing all that interesting. She eventually came over to the check-in counter. Leaning on her elbows and placing her hands onto her cheeks to support herself, she stared passively into a mirror sitting on top of the counter. She blinked a few times, fidgeting a bit, but didn't move. "What a small mirror. Much smaller than the one back home-" She froze. She didn't move or say anything for a second. A flood of information had just flew into her mind, and it was taking her a moment to process. "Wait…a mirror…in a hospital…I…I remember now." She took a few steps back from the counter, still feeling thoroughly shocked. "I remember everything! I-I remember! I got infected in a hospital, but some creepy doctor guy…and then I looked into the mirror before I left…so when I looked in this mirror now, I remembered!…What a dumb memory trigger. Geez. But…wait. So…" She paused, sifting through all of the new information clogging her head, trying to find the important details. "Wait a-oh my gosh. No way!" She quickly ran down the hall, checking each room until she finally found the one where her friends were.

"There you are," Valery smiled over at her. "You look like something weird just happened. Is something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing wrong! This is actually really good!" Taunter replied quickly. "But right now I need to go! I'll meet you guys back with everyone else!"

"Hey, wait, don't you need an escort?" Boomer called after her as she dashed out the door, but didn't get any response. "Oh, geez…" Taunter didn't stop even when she heard Boomer. She had to be sure of this…this thing that she had remembered. Her mind had seemed so empty before, but now, everything had come back to her, and it felt so full that it was almost like it was near to bursting. She remembered her name. She remembered her home town. But most importantly, in this moment, she remembered him. Her little brother. And now she had to be sure that she was right. She just had to check. She kept running once she was out of the hospital, and continued along at a fast pace up until she was out of breath, but nearby to where everyone was. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath, and was surprised to run into Eric.

"Eric?" she asked, looking over at him. "What's up?"

"Were you just running away from someone?" Eric answered her with an inquiry of his own.

"No, don't worry. But why are you out here alone?"

"Oh…that. Well…that black haired guy and the girl that he was with…they came back. And the girl seemed fine with us, but the guy is really pissed off, and he started attacking us. Everyone else tried to stop him, but he managed to chase us away from them, anyway."

"Clawer and Healer?" Taunter asked, looking at him quizzically. "Clawer attacked you?"

"Me and Tai."

"Then where's Tai?"

"We decided to split up to try to lose Clawer. But it looks like he ended up following Tai. And I wouldn't be surprised if Tai was in really big trouble right now."

"Oh no…which way did they go?"

"That way, I think," Eric said, pointing down an alley uncertainly.

"Thanks," Taunter told him quickly, running in the direction that he had pointed.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go help Tai!"

"Okay, good luck. That guy's crazy!"

…...

"Oh, great…" Tai said as he ran into yet another dead end in an alley. "Just my luck. Who builds alleys with dead ends anyway? There's no point if you can't walk through them! Oh well, I'd better keep moving…"

"You're not going anywhere," came a voice from behind him, and he turned to see Clawer standing at the mouth of the alley.

"Uh-oh."

"Yeah. Uh-oh. I guess that this wasn't a part of your little 'infiltration plan', was it?"

"I'm telling you, I'm not-"

"Shut up! I'm not going to believe anything you say! You work for Cole, and that's it! I don't care how much everyone trusts you, I never will! And I can't let you stay with my friends and think that you can trick them. Now, there's nowhere for you to run. This ends here."

"Hang on, can't we just work this out? I mean, everyone's always saying to 'use your words', right? I mean, can't we…you know…talk?" Tai asked this, even though he knew that Clawer was going to refuse. Still, he had to try _something_.

"I don't want to talk to you," Clawer replied. "First I'll take you out, then your little buddy who ran off the other way, then the whole rest of Cole's team, and anyone else who threatens me and my friends." Tai knew that he was seriously running out of options here. Clawer was blocking the only exit, and the dead end was made of a plain brick wall, so he couldn't climb over it. He figured that he could always fuse with what Hunter blood he had left, but that would take way too long. Wasn't there anything he could do…?

"Any last words?" Clawer asked quietly.

"I-I…" Tai trailed off, really unsure of what to say.

"Wait!" a shout echoed through the alleys, surprising both of them. And then, without warning, Taunter came barreling in right past Clawer, then standing in front of Tai in a defensive position.

"Huh?" Tai said in astonishment. "W-What are you doing? He'll hurt you!"

"He won't hurt _me_," Taunter corrected him. "He's one of my friends. So he wouldn't hurt me. Anyway…Clawer! Stop it! Leave Tai alone!"

"Why can't you guys see that he's tricking you?" Clawer asked in exasperation. "I just want to get rid of him before he stabs you in the back!"

"He wouldn't do that!"

"How do you know?"

"Just because I know, okay? Tai isn't the kind of person who would betray us, and neither is Eric."

"Trust me, it's all a trick."

"No. You trust _me_, Clawer. You're the one who's been blinded by your past experiences."

"Okay, now you're just stalling for time! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill him now."

"B-Because! You can't, okay?"

"That's not a reason."

"Y…You just can't kill him, Clawer!" Taunter shouted. "I won't let you! You can't kill him! He…he's my little brother!" A shocked silence fell over the alleyway.

"No way…" Clawer shook his head slowly. "What…?"

"…Riley?" Tai whispered, breaking his own silence. "It really _is_ you, isn't it? You've…you've come back."

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Note: You guys might understand the stuff about Taunter's past better if you read her chapter in the Origins story that I'm writing! XD

Okey dokey! Wow. A lot happened in this chapter, huh? XD Lol…and some of you guys thought that Noir was her bro. -w- I told you guys that you might be wrong, but no one believed that…lol. XD I mean, you've gotta consider the fact that Taunter and Noir look absolutely nothing alike, right? X3 Whereas Taunter and Tai have got the same hair and eyes and such. :3 But oh well, I suppose that Noir was a good guess anyways. X3

Secondly…this is the last call for suggestions to me! If you wanna make a suggestion, this is your LAST CHANCE! O:

Anyway, question time! X3

For the good guys (except Clawer and Mike): How do you guys feel about everyone spazzing out all of a sudden? o_o Do you chock it up to stress?

For Clawer: How do you feel about knowing that Tai is Taunter's bro? o: Are you still gonna try to kill him? D:

For Mike: Are you planning on coming back soon? -w-

For the bad guys: Uhhh…what were you doing during this chapter? And also, what do you think of your new base? :D (btw, the new base is a multi-level parking garage, it just hasn't shown up in the story yet. XD)


	18. Sadness

I've finally got time to work on this! Yaaaay! :3 But it took so long… XD

You guys, sorry if I take long to reply to your messages…school has me very busy. ^^; I'll try to get back to you this weekend. :)

And as usual, lacks proofreading…sorry. ^^;

Also, another VERY IMPORTANT NOTE! I see that there are still people commenting with OCs. D: Doesn't anyone read the description anymore? ._. I'm terribly sorry to the new commentors, but we ARE NOT taking anymore characters. The roster is full enough as it is, as you can see by the epic disclaimer…so yeah…I'm sorry! x_x *feels guilty*

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam and Blake. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole, Gina, and Granny. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awsomedacious1 owns Lurker. A Little Help Here owns Spectre. Butters321 owns Echo. Golden-Gargoyle owns Cat.

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"It looks weird…"

"No, it doesn't look weird at all!"

"Hrm…it looks _really_ weird," Noir mumbled almost incoherently, talking about the new clothes that Valery had helped him pick out. "…Right?"

"No, I think it looks cute," Valery responded, stuffing all of the clothes that she had decided to collect for everyone into one of the bags that rested behind the counter of the clothing store that they had arrived at not long after Alan had finished patching Noir up.

"Cute?" Noir asked in surprise. "…I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing."

"Trust me, it's a good thing," Valery said with a slight laugh.

"You guys ready to go?" Boomer asked, walking over.

"Yeah, looks like we're done," Valery nodded. "Let's get going." The three of them walked to the door, where Alan was waiting for them. "Hey…wasn't Taunter with you?"

"With me?" Alan asked. "No, I don't think so…"

"Huh. That's weird. I wonder where she could have gone off to." Valery about it for a moment, then decided that Taunter had probably just gone back ahead of them. Maybe she had been feeling sick. After all, she _had_ been spacing out quite a lot in the hospital entrance…Valery noticed out of the corner of her eye that Noir was beginning to leave by himself, despite the fact that he was still limping along. "Shouldn't we wait for her?"

"She's not coming over here," Noir replied without looking over at her. "If she ran off, it was for a reason."

"A reason? Like what?"

"Who knows?…Let's just go."

...

"Your brother?" Clawer asked, having recovered from his temporary surprise. "Am I supposed to believe that?"

"Well, yeah!" Taunter replied immediately. "I mean, we look enough alike, right? And Clawer, I just got my memories back."

"Good for you. So what?"

"Oh, shut up! I remember him, okay? He's not our enemy here! You're just paranoid!"

"You just don't want to accept the truth!"

"What truth? You're wrong!"

"You just don't get it, do you? He's _killed_ before. And we're not talking about survivors, here. We're talking about _other Infected_. He's just as bad as Cole!"

"Just as bad as…just as bad as Cole? Just as bad as _Cole_? _Really_? I mean, seriously, _REALLY_? You're saying that he's as bad as _that_ guy?"

"He's hurt countless people."

"Just who do _you_ know that he's hurt, huh?"

"Plenty."

"Like who?"

"He killed all my old friends."

"That wasn't _him_. That was Cole!"

"They were on the same team at the time."

"So what?"

"He…he's not bad, okay?" Taunter shouted, finding herself unable to fight Clawer's one sided argument. "And I'm serious when I say that he's my brother. And that if you wanna attack him, you're going to have to go through me first!"

"Fine then. You asked for it."

"What are you-"

"Stop!" the shout silenced both of the arguers, and the two of them looked over at Tai, who had finally spoken. "Just…stop it. You're friends, right? You shouldn't be fighting like this. And it's my fault that you are. I'll just leave."

"Leave? What are you talking about?" Taunter half turned around to speak to Tai, but tried to still keep Clawer in her peripheral vision.

"I'll just not hang out around here anymore. Go out on my own, I guess."

"But Tai, you don't have to do that. I mean, if I can just get it into Clawer's head that you're not a bad guy…"

"He's right, though. I _have_ killed other Infected. As much as I'd like to deny that, I've done it. There's no changing the past."

"Yeah," Clawer called over. "Once a murderer, always a murderer!"

"That's not true!" Taunter yelled over at him. "Tai isn't a murderer! If he _was_ he probably would have killed us all long ago! Isn't that proof enough for you?"

"He's just biding his time."

"Ugh, you're being such an idiot!"

"There you go again!" Tai cut in once again. "I don't want you guys fighting over something like this. I'm just going to walk away, and then you won't have to worry about it anymore. Sound good?" Tai walked out from behind Taunter, heading for the mouth of the alley and seemingly ignoring Clawer's position. Taunter quickly followed him, wanting to reason with him.

"Tai, you don't _have _to leave!" she said, being wary of how close they were getting to Clawer. "We can work this out! I mean…what about everyone else? What about Eric, won't he miss you?"

"He can do without me."

"But…but…" Taunter paused, and saw that Clawer was getting ready to attack. She ran over to him, pushing him a bit to unsteady him. "Leave Tai alone!"

"Stop it, he's gonna get away!"

"Just…just don't attack him!" Taunter continued her efforts to stop Clawer, and it was in this moment that Tai turned the corner, going out of sight. Both Taunter and Clawer stood there, quiet, dropping their arms down to their sides. They stayed like that for a long time. Maybe a minute. Maybe five minutes. Maybe even ten. Neither of them could tell. But no matter how long it had been, Tai was long gone.

"There goes my brother," Taunter said, finally. "And I may never see him again. By himself, he'll probably get killed…"

"Good riddance," Clawer murmured agitatedly.

"Good riddance? Clawer…he was really my brother. And now he's gone and in danger…and it's…it's all your fault!" Without warning, Taunter suddenly lifted her arm and punched him right in the chest. He barely even felt it. And then, all at once, there were tears falling from her eyes, and she was punching him again and again in the same place with alternating hands, the weak blows meaning absolutely nothing. "He was my brother! My br-brother! And I didn't even knew that I h-had a brother until now! I had totally forgotten him, and I was so happy to remember!" Taunter was practically sobbing, hiccupping laughs escaping her mouth at every other interval. "I felt so happy to actually know that I had a brother! But now, he's gone! And you made him leave! H-He was a good person, too! He w-was so nice, but you were just mean to him at every chance you got! You were wr-wrong about him! But now, he's gone, and I'll never, ever, ever see him again! Because he thinks that this whole thing is his fault, but no, it's YOURS!" At this point, Taunter let up her punching, and looked down at the ground. Then, the sound of footsteps came. The rest of the team had finally located them, coming out of a far alley.

"Hey, we've found him-" Spectre was in the middle of informing everyone else when he saw the scene. "What the…?" The rest of the team came out as well, looking upon what was happening.

"You just had to go and ruin it, didn't you, Clawer?" Taunter asked, still crying. "You…you just…I…I _hate_ you!" She pushed past him, running further down the alley, then going into another side path at full speed.

"H-Hey! What's wrong?" Calli called worriedly, chasing after, followed by Cat, Echo, and Angel. A moment later, Spectre followed them as well, walking at a speed walk pace.

"What…what was that all about?" Sam called over to Clawer. The rest of the group but one stayed where they were. Hunter was approaching Clawer.

"What happened?" he demanded once he got close enough. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," Clawer replied. "Heck, I practically saved her."

"I don't care what you _think_ you did. The only fact is that Taunter just ran out of here crying. _What _did you _do_?"

"You're not going to believe me, even if I tell you."

"Whatever. I don't want to listen to you anymore. But just listen. If you _ever_ make her cry again," Hunter threatened, his voice descending down into a growl. "I'll kick your ass into next week. You'll be wishing that you had never been born." And with that, he pushed Clawer aside, following the path that everyone else had taken to try to find Taunter.

"Clawer…why did you do that?" Smoker, one of the last to arrive, asked.

"Geez, why are you all against me?" Clawer replied with his own question.

"Where's Tai?" a third question was added onto the chain, this time by Eric. "You didn't…right?"

"Yeah, I didn't kill him. Yet," Clawer replied. "He ran away, like the coward he is."

"Oh…"

"Clawer, you can't just run around attacking people," Smoker spoke again. "It's just-"

"Oh, shut up! I was doing it for the better good! Just leave me alone!" Clawer cut him off, then heading off in a different direction. Healer frowned in concern, then followed him. The only three remaining in the alley were Tank, Eric, and Smoker.

"We should…probably head back," Tank sighed. "We need to check on Witch again anyway. She _is_ all alone back there."

"Yeah, let's go," Eric agreed after a slight pause. He and Tank slowly started to make their way back towards their temporary base, but Smoker remained where he was standing.

"Just great…" he whispered to himself once everyone else was gone. At that moment, the group who had just come from the clothing store came strolling into the alley.

"Hey, Smoker, what's up?" Valery greeted him with a grin. "Look at all this stuff we brought back!"

"Oh…cool," Smoker said after a moment.

"Hey…is something wrong? Did something bad happen?"

"Oh, you don't even know the half of it," Smoker sighed, dropping his finished cigarette and grinding it into the asphalt with his heel. "Come back to the base with me, and I'll tell you what happened on the way…"

...

"This is getting really stupid…" Ivy groaned in annoyance, trying to find a proper place to sit on the roof of the multi-level parking garage that Cole's team had adopted as their base. "When are we actually going to go attack for once?"

"Geez, just give me two seconds to think up a plan," Cole grumbled. "Hey, Lurker, did you see anyone when you went out scouting?"

"Just one," Lurker replied. "Tai was wandering around."

"Tai? That's weird…what, did he get kicked out or something? Ha! He deserves it."

"Are we going to do anything about it?" Gina asked.

"No way," Cole replied immediately. "I'm _not_ helping that bastard. He's a traitor, just like Eric. And even Noir! I never expected _him_ to go over to that team of whiney sissies! Whatever, he was a brat anyway!" Mauler restrained himself from saying anything rash, though he really wanted to. He knew that now was not the time. Hammer merely glanced out over the town. "Anyway, listen up. We're not gonna do anything just yet. I mean, just a little while ago, you were all complaining about getting pummeled by some Tank."

"He chucked us against a wall. What would you expect?" Shawn asked.

"I'd expect that you'd all have a little more backbone…"

"…Seriously?"

"Yeah. Seriously. So like I was saying, we're not gonna do anything. Rest up from your 'injuries', and then we'll think of something tomorrow." Cole stood up, walking over to the side of the parking lot and sitting somewhat precariously on the edge. The sun was setting, and it was nearly blinding him, which was fairly annoying. And that only added onto his annoyance with his own team. They were complaining after having gotten hit _once_ by a Tank. Just once. That was all. And as for the others, well, he hadn't really liked Eric and Tai from the start. But as for Noir? He was furious about that betrayal. Noir had always been a crucial part of their battle plans, working in conjunction with Gina and Ivy to confuse and disable their opponents. But now, he had decided to go over to the wimpy team. Cole tried to convince himself that Noir was only doing some reconnaissance, but he knew that that was not the case. The next time that Cole saw him, Noir was either going to fork over some sort of explanation or pay for what he'd done. Either way, Cole knew that he could get along in things without Noir. He still had the rest of his team. He still had plenty of people. Nobody else was going to betray him…right?

...

Tai walked down the alleyway he had found himself in, glancing at the ragged posters that hung limply on the walls. He was unable to read the writing on them, and their colors looked faded and worn out. And as he looked upwards, he saw that clouds were beginning to come over the sky as the sun set, muting out the color.

"Maybe I should go back…" he mused to himself as he continued to walk. "No, no, I can't…it'll just make things worse if I go back." As he walked out of the alley, he found himself in a familiar place. It was Cole's old base…and it looked terrible. "What happened here? Did it explode or something?" He stepped over some rubble, going into the ruins of what had already been a pretty pathetic excuse for a base. He glanced around at the wreckage until he saw something. A flash of red. He picked up a few pieces of plaster and threw them aside, then lifted up what had been underneath it. It was the tattered remains of a med kit. "This must be what I gave to Eric…so that's why he couldn't find it when we needed it…Cole stole it." A sudden flash of anger and annoyance washed over him, and he threw the now useless tool over in a random direction as hard as he could. "Geez! Every little thing…" Then all of a sudden, he heard footsteps. He turned, half surprised and half nervous, wondering if it was one of the people who held an interest in killing him. He found that he was mistaken.

"My, my, child, whatever could be wrong?" Granny asked, coming out of a nearby alleyway, toting her usual supply of cookies and other such things from the grocery store.

"You…you're…"

"Call me Granny, dear."

"Okay…Granny, then…what are you doing here?"

"I had a feeling that I would find someone here…where are the rest of your friends?"

"Gone. Left. Cole and those guys don't like me anymore, and staying with the other group only causes more trouble."

"But, why is that, dearie? You're a nice boy."

"It's because of all of the fighting…"

"The fighting…?" Granny paused for a moment, sighing. "Young people these days…always caught up in who owns what and who's beating who. Life isn't about that."

"Yeah. I wish that they would stop fighting," Tai nodded. "I sorta wish that we could have just left them alone…"

"Everything happens for a reason. And I'm thinking that things are going to turn out for you okay in the end, so don't worry."

"Huh? How…how do you know that?" Tai asked as Granny approached him.

"Just call it intuition," she replied, placing a cookie into his hand. "Now then, you had better find a good place to stay for the night, and remember to stay warm. You wouldn't want to catch cold."

"R-Right…" he answered quickly. "Thanks. I feel…maybe a little better now. Are…are you sure that things are going to turn out okay?"

"As far as I can guess, yes, they are. So try not to worry too much." She gave him a soft smile, and then just like that, she was off into another alley.

"Huh…I wonder…" Tai murmured, starting to nibble on the cookie. "Could she be right? Guess I just have to wait and see…"

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That took me SO LOOOONG! Omg. Sorry about that. XD I hope that you guys can forgive my lateness! ;w; And omg MOAR DRAMA! Lol that's all we need. XD

Question tiiiime

For Clawer: Are you feeling guilty yet? DX

For the good guys at the clothes store: What do you think about what happened from what Smoker told you? O:

For the rest of the good guys: Are you mad at Clawer…or what? What are YOU feeling? (therapist voice: and how does that make you FEEEEL)

For the bad guys: How are you guys feeling about the situation at hand?

For Cole: What are YOUR thoughts on this, hmmm? o_o


	19. Quavering Stillness

I'M BAAACK! This one took me long enough. ._. Well, my flash drive broke, and I nearly lost all the data to this entire story and the prequel. ._. I managed to save this chapter on another flash drive, but I'll have to copy and paste the rest of the chapters from here on fanfiction. D: So, yes, after technical difficulties, endless homework, and slight writer's block, I have returned! XD With a slight headache in tow. o_o; Well, anyway, here's a perfect example: I have no idea how long each of these chapters is going to take! XD So please don't assume that something bad has happened unless I don't post for more than two months. :P

Note: Headache prevents me from proofreading. D:

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam and Blake. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole, Gina, and Granny. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awsomedacious1 owns Lurker. A Little Help Here owns Spectre. Butters321 owns Echo. Golden-Gargoyle owns Cat.

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"_Hey, are you almost ready?"_

"_Yeah, I'm coming! Hang on a second…okay, here I come!" _

"_Come on, we're gonna be late!"_

"_I know that, silly! Hey…last one there is a rotten egg!"_

"_Huh? Hey, wait-"_

"_I'm gonna beat you! Hahaha!"_

"_Hey, wait up! Riley…Riley!"_

…...

"Taunter?" came a new voice all of a sudden.

"Huh?" Taunter said, snapping up out of her reverie. She turned to her right, where the source of the sound had come from. At the edge of the roof were Calli, Echo, Cat, and Angel, and Spectre had just come up the fire escape. "Oh…hi, guys…"

"Hey, are you okay?" Echo asked immediately. "What did Clawer do?"

"Nothing…he didn't do anything," Taunter shook her head, having calmed down by now. "I just overreacted I guess."

"Are you sure he didn't do anything?" Cat said, sounding like she didn't quite believe Taunter's statement. "It's okay if he did…you can tell us."

"He didn't do anything to _me_," Taunter explained herself. "But he was threatening Tai. And I had just remembered some things from before the infection, and I remembered that Tai was my brother. And so, right after that, Clawer was seriously going to try to kill him, so I got really mad. Clawer and I were fighting, and Tai felt like it was his fault, and he left…and Clawer seemed happy about it. I guess I'm just tired…and with all the stress and such…sorry for being such a baby."

"It's alright to cry if you want to," Angel said in a quiet, but sure voice.

"Yeah. If you were feeling like _that_, then you had the right to cry," Spectre agreed.

"Mm-hm," Calli nodded. "We were just really worried about you."

"Well…I'm okay now…I guess. I'm just worried about Tai. He can hardly fight, and there's a lot of dangerous stuff out there these days…"

"It's hard to believe how fast our nice peaceful town got all scary and violent…"

"Well, anyway," Spectre walked over, putting a hand on Taunter's shoulder. "There's no use in moping around up here, right? Nobody's mad at you, and Clawer ran off somewhere. So how about coming down for some lunch?"

"Sure…I'll be down in a little while," Taunter turned to him, giving him a slight smile.

"Alright, we'll be waiting," Echo grinned. "Better hurry down before Boomer eats everything!"

"Yeah, really," Calli added in with a laugh. "See you later!" Soon, the group was heading down the fire escape.

"Hey, you're here," came Calli's voice. "You're a bit late, aren't you?"

"Shut up," it was easy to tell who that was. It didn't take long for Hunter to get up the fire escape, and Taunter gave him a nod of recognition when he reached the roof.

"So…" Hunter said as he approached. "Just what _did_ he do?"

"Nothing, it's nothing. I just got a bit too stressed out over things. I'm fine now, so don't worry."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah. But…at least _one_ good thing happened."

"What's that?"

"I remembered some stuff from before the infection," she said to him, smiling. "They're good memories, so I'm happy to have gotten them back."

"Really?" Hunter asked in surprise. "Awesome!"

"I even remember my old name."

"What is it?"

"Riley."

"Huh…cool. Riley, huh?"

"Yup," she said, standing up and stretching. "So, you can call me that from now on, 'kay?" Her smile got a bit wider.

"Sure," Hunter nodded. "So…are you heading back now?"

"Yup, lunch time. You hungry?"

"Starving."

"Okay, let's go!"

…...

Healer had returned to the group.

"I _did_ find Clawer…but I couldn't stop him from running off somewhere. I'm worried…but, he'll be back soon. Anyway, is there anyone here who needs healing?"

"Smoker and Noir," Boomer told her. "Other than that I think we're good."

"Right, okay!" Healer smiled, walking over to Smoker. She was able to heal his wound fairly quickly, seeing as that it had already healed on its own a bit. The others really couldn't fathom just how the healing pheromones that were let out from her body worked, but they sure _did_ work. Smoker was totally back to normal in less than a minute.

"Ah, much better," he sighed in relief. "Thanks, Healer."

"No problem," she nodded, then standing up again. She turned around, looking at where Noir was sitting in between Calli and Valery and looking generally uncomfortable as he nibbled on a small piece of meat. He had been her enemy for so long now…She paused once she got over to him, and he looked up at her wondering just what she was planning on doing. There was an awkward silence where nobody spoke, and no one was even sure of what to say.

"…It's okay if you don't want to," Noir said, breaking the silence. "I can see why. So if you don't want to heal me, you don't have to."

"You're…actually being considerate to me?" Healer asked, thoroughly surprised. Was this really the same brat that constantly made sarcastic remarks about everything?

"N-No, I'm not _trying_ to be considerate…it's just that…th-this is nothing, you know? I've had much worse. I can handle this no problem."

"But doesn't it hurt?"

"Well, yeah, but so what? Like I said, I've dealt with worse, so it doesn't matter to me whether you want to heal me or not…"

"Hm…" Healer frowned, really unsure of what to say in this situation. She could hardly believe that this was the same Noir…he was so…so…_different_. Noir looked away, obviously not expecting her to do anything about his condition. Healer herself had at first thought that she wouldn't do anything. But now… "Well…I can't just _leave_ you like this…" Another long pause. Healer sighed. "Noir, come here for a second. I'm going to heal you." Noir glanced over at her, but scooched over without standing up. Healer placed a hand on his side, and within a minute or two, he was completely back to normal. Everyone was silent. The group from the alleyway had to wonder: What was he going to do now that he was completely healed? Would he attack, or…? Noir stood up, taking a breath.

"I have to go…" he said after a moment.

"Go? Are you…are you going back to Cole?" Valery asked him hesitantly.

"…Yeah. But…not to join him. There's something…there's something that I have to do." And with that, he bent down, picked up his hat and pulled it down securely onto his head, then walked into an alley, leaving the group without another word.

"Something he has to do? What is he talking about?" Echo asked after a moment.

"Well, whatever it is," Sam said, shaking his head. "It can't be good."

…...

Noir walked out of the alleyway, and into the street. The Commons were still walking around, having no sense of where they were going or why they were walking. That was all they knew: Walk, run, attack, eat. A large crowd of them walked around Noir, a few of them bumping right into him. But he didn't do anything to strike out at them. He just kept walking. That was new. They were just Commons, after all…why was he being so nice? Even _he_ didn't know. He walked and walked, his mind remaining fairly blank. Everything felt so weird now. His old teammates felt like enemies, and his old enemies were now taking care of him. It was like the whole world had been turned upside down or backwards. He kept on walking, walking, walking, until he reached the old base. That old, burnt out corpse of a building. But no one was there. And it looked like the whole thing had been destroyed somehow. Where were Cole, Gina, and everyone else. Did something happen to them? Then…how could they have attacked such a short time ago? Noir took another look around. He still found nobody. But after a third scan of the area, he saw something. Up in the sky. There was a billowing trail of smoke marring the clear blue. And then, Noir knew. That was where he was going to find Cole.

…...

The alleyway group was quiet, not really knowing what to talk about. In fact, they had no idea what to do about their current situation.

"Do you think we should send someone out to look for Tai?" Cat asked suddenly.

"We could make a search party," Alan nodded. "That would probably be best."

"Alright, standard search party members," Smoker sighed. "You guys know the drill."

"Yeah, yeah," Hunter said, standing up. "Let's just hope he hasn't been char broiled by Cole yet." As Sam and Hunter headed for the alleyway out, Echo came up to them.

"Do you think I can come, too?" she asked. "I'm pretty worried about Tai."

"Sure," Sam nodded. "Just be careful, alright?"

"I will," Echo agreed, then followed the two Hunters out of the area.

…...

Tai was picking his way through another beat up looking alleyway. And by the looks of all of the charred things littering the ground, it seemed that Cole had been through there. He just never got enough of that burning stuff hobby, did he? Tai kicked a can that he found at his feet further into the alley as he walked along. Being by himself was…well, lonely. But it _was_ for the best…right? Tai gave the can one last kick as he got to the end of the alleyway, sending it skittering out into the area in front of him. He looked up from the ground, about to go after the can when he froze. Cole was right outside the alley, out in the middle of the open area beyond the entrance to the small space. Tai quickly ducked down behind a crate, hoping that Cole hadn't seen him.

_Cole must be REALLY pissed, _he thought, peeking over the top of the box. _But maybe he just forgot…no, no, he wouldn't forget. Well, maybe he's not mad anymore…uh…yeah, right. And…oh, no, he's coming over here!_ Tai watched in utter horror from his hiding place as Cole came striding over to inspect what had caused an empty can to suddenly come sliding out of a dark alley. But before Cole reached the alleyway, a voice resounded throughout the area.

"Hey, Cole," came a shout. Cole turned towards the owner of the voice, and Tai was sure that he was safe. For now.

…...

"Well, look who finally decided to show up," Cole said, not even bothering to put on a fake smile. "I thought that you went and joined the other team, Noir."

"I didn't really have a choice," Noir replied.

"Nice excuse."

"It's not an excuse!"

"Whatever. What did you come here for? If you're still on their team, then you must have a death wish or something."

"I just…I came to tell you something," Noir told him, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "I think…uh…"

"You think what? Spit it out already," Cole sighed in exasperation. "I don't have all day, Noir, and if you haven't noticed, I've got some Infected to burn."

"I think that you shouldn't attack this town anymore!" Noir finally blurted out. "I mean…the Infected living here are actually pretty nice…and this is just stupid, right? I mean, it'd be way easier to just go find some other place, wouldn't it? I mean, I'll…uh…I guess that I would come with if you want. I mean…I just think that…you know…the Infected living here don't deserve what you have in store for them. So…do you think that you can just, maybe, find some other town to burn down and stuff?" There was a long pause. Noir glanced around, and thought that he spotted someone in one of the alleys branching off from the area, but decided that it was nothing, and turned back to Cole. "So…uh…well…what do you think?"

"Hm. Well. Let's see," Cole said after a moment. "What do _I_ think?" He paused. Then, to Noir's surprise, he started _laughing_.

"What's so funny?" Noir shouted defensively. "I'm serious!"

"I can tell," Cole replied, calming his laughing down. "I never thought that you would sink so low, Noir. They've changed you. You're one of them, now."

"I never said that I was on their team."

"Then, who's team _are_ you on, Noir?"

"I…uh…I don't know, okay? Geez."

"It's kinda obvious," Cole shook his head. "Just by the look on your face, I can tell. You're with them, now. I don't know how they did it, but they got to you."

"Maybe because…well, maybe because they were actually _nice_ to me! Ever think of that?" Noir asked quickly.

"Just being _nice_ isn't going to keep you alive. You're going to be able to see how true that is in just a second."

"What are you talking about?" Noir asked just before a wall of flame streaked past his right side, nearly touching his arm. He could feel the heat emanating from the inferno, and backed away from it by a bit, only to be cut off by another stream of fire to his left. "Wh…What are you doing?"

"You're with them, now, Noir, which means that you're one of the ones that needs to burn! And how convenient is it that you're just standing here right in front of me, alone, huh? Too bad that you decided not to join up with us again. Whatever. We didn't need you anyway." The flames were beginning to close in on Noir, but strangely, he found that he wasn't trying to get away. The fire was practically a ring now, so there was no way out. Noir simply stood there, not saying a word. This was it. No way out. No way to reason with Cole. Well…at least he could say that he tried. But just then, the fires disappeared. Noir looked over at Cole in confusion, only to see that he was looking up at a roof. Noir turned around, looking up at the roof himself, only to see yet another Infected standing up there.

"Fighting with your own team's probably not gonna get you anywhere, huh, Cole?" Clawer called down to him. "Remember: You've got _me_ to deal with. And I swear, I'm finishing you off now. Even if I die. You're going down." Noir could tell that this was going to turn into a messy battlefield pretty soon. And now that he was out of the direct line of fire, he realized something: He _really _didn't want to be around when those two duked it out. So he got up, quickly darting into an alley while Cole was distracted with Clawer.

"Isn't that what you always say? Well, whatever. Your funeral," Noir heard Cole say from inside the alley. Noir took a breath, then stopped for a moment. Well, that plan had worked out like crap. He sat down on a box, thinking for a moment, but was surprised when he looked down, only to find someone sitting directly behind said box.

"H-Hey!" he said, standing up quickly. "Wh-What the heck are you doing there?"

"Who, me?" Tai asked, looking surprised. "I was here first. What're you doing sitting on my box?"

"Okay, now you just sound-" Noir stopped himself. "Uh…yeah. Never mind. I'm not going to ask why you were back there." Tai shrugged, standing up.

"I just didn't want Cole to notice me. So, looks like he hates you too, now, huh?

"He pretty much hates everyone," Noir responded. "Anyway, I'm going to head back now. Are you sure you don't want to come back, now that that crazy guy is too busy out there fighting Cole?"

"He'll go back after he's done," Tai said, smiling awkwardly. "I'll just make things worse being there. You go ahead back. Tell them that I said 'hi'."

"Okay," Noir said, heading out of the alley. "I'll tell them that. Anything else you need to say?"

"Nothing much, except that I'm sorry."

"Sounds good. See you…uh…whenever, I guess," Noir shrugged, then left the alley. He walked for a while, then paused once he got out of the alleyway system and into the street. "That was…so…weird." He shook his head, then continued on his way. He kept on walking until he got back to the other team's temporary base. It sounded like everyone was talking strategy. One of them was drawing out a plan in the thin layer of dirt that coated the ground, and the others were gathered around, watching. Noir sat down on top of a crate, feeling almost invisible. Not this again. He just _hated_ feeling like that. But he didn't want to shout anything or seem like a jerk…which was also kind of weird to him…He sat on the box, trying to figure out how he could go over and put himself into the conversation, but found no methods that he thought suitable. And so, he decided to just sit there on the box and wait. They probably wouldn't be at it for too long, right? And after they were done, who would he talk to anyway? Who would want to talk to him? And what would he say? And who to tell Tai's message to? And-

"Hey," the voice startled Noir slightly, and he looked up. And then, he froze. It was _that one_. He hadn't spoken to him yet. Or even gone near him. And now, he was standing here right in front of him. Noir found himself unable to say anything, though his mouth formed words. No sound came out.

"Is there really a need to act like that?" Spectre asked quietly. "I'm not going to _do _anything, so just calm down." Noir remembered, then, that Taunter had said that Spectre had wanted to apologize. Noir repeated that in his head: _He just wants to apologize. He just wants to apologize. He just wants to apologize…_ Noir still didn't say anything out loud.

"I know that you must be pretty scared right now, otherwise you would have said something," Spectre continued. "Anyway, I've been trying to tell you something for a while now, but I haven't gotten the chance until now. So, I'll say it now, before something else happens. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone that hard on you, and it was bad, but you know how it is…Infected instinct and all. So…apology accepted?" Noir could barely even think, let alone register whether his apology was accepted or not. There were about ten things running through his head at once, and mixed together, they all sounded like pure gibberish.

"Uh…y-yeah, I guess," Noir managed to choke out. Had he just said that? He had hardly even heard himself.

"Good," Spectre sighed in what sounded like some degree of relief. "Glad you're feeling better. And no hard feelings." Noir closed his eyes tight when he saw Spectre approaching further, but was significantly surprised when all he felt like a light pat on the head. And with that, Spectre was off towards the rest of the group. Noir could hardly understand what had just happened. Had Spectre really just pat him on the head…? The Infected that had brought him close to death had just pat his head. Noir shook his head in disbelief. There was the second amazingly weird thing he had experienced in just a few minutes.

"I…have to go lie down," he took a deep breath, heading off towards the sleeping area and wondering if he should get his head checked.

…...

Mike kicked a pebble, watching it skitter across the ground and then down into a gutter. He hadn't seen the rest of the group in quite a while now. But he had seen smoke. A lot of smoke. And that couldn't be good. By this time, he was ready to go back, but he just wasn't sure how everyone else would react when he did. Were they mad at him? He paused to sit down on a half shattered bench, thinking things over. Obviously, as they were now, they didn't have a chance. They needed backup. More people. People they knew that they could trust.

"Where could we find people like that…?" Mike sighed, still mulling the problem over. Then, something dawned on him. He glanced over, looking at the path that led out of town. "…That's it. I know who I can go get." He stood up, preparing himself for a long run, maybe a little getting lost, and a lot of asking around. "Claire."

…...

The battle between Cole and Clawer was in full swing, and Tai could feel the heat from the flames all the way inside the alley. How Clawer was able to survive against that monster, Tai would never know. Tai could even feel the heat from the flames that Cole was spewing out all the way back inside the alley. And as such, he decided to back up a bit, not wanting to be barbequed. As he walked back down the alley, away from the battle, he wondered just how it would turn out. This had happened several times before. Clawer and Cole "fighting to the death." But something always happened to stop them. Would something stop them this time, or would one of them really die? As Tai thought about this, he bumped into somebody on his way around the corner and out of the alley.

"Oh, sorry," he said quickly, backing up a bit. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"It's okay," Echo nodded and smiled. "I'm just glad I found you. Our search party had to split up individually."

"You sent a search party out for me?" Tai asked, very surprised. They really wanted him to come back that badly?

"Well, yeah," Echo replied. "I mean, we were worried about you. Are you okay?"

"Who, me? I'm fine," Tai nodded quickly. "I…uh…I didn't know that you guys were so worried about me. Sorry for running off and all, I just thought that it would be better."

"It's not better, so don't think it is," Echo told him. "Everyone misses you a lot. And…you're a really cool guy." She smiled, and Tai couldn't help but smile back. "So, what do you say? Wanna head back?"

"…Sure," Tai said with a bit of a happy sigh. But just before they left, he stopped.

"What's wrong?" Echo asked, turning to face him again.

"I don't hear anything," he replied.

"So?"

"So, there was just a fight going on right over here…" Tai began walking back into the alleyway, and Echo followed him. All the sounds of battle had stopped completely. All that could be heard was the crackling of some stray flames. The two in the alley tentatively looked out into the opening, and then went out into the open area.

"What the…" Tai breathed, seeing the results of the clash. "This is…no way…"

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Bwahahahaha! CLIFFHANGER! XD Oof, I have go the biggest headache ever… x_x I need some sleep! D: I tried to make this chapter a bit longer, since you had to wait for so long. ^^; I hope you liked it!

Question time! :3

For the good guys: Any ideas for your next plan of action? O:

For the bad guys: How about you guys? Do you have any plans? Anything you really feel like doing? o_o


	20. Left Guessing

(Coming up with all these chapter titles just keeps getting harder and harder… :T)

Wow, I finally finished another chapter! It's a MIRACLE! Sorry this one took so long! D: Either way, it's done! Phew! O: And yesh, this sequel is going past chapter twenty, unlike the prequel! We've still got a loooong way to go, people! XD Anyway, nothing much else to say…let's go!

And as usual, lacks proofreading! Gosh, I'm lazy. :P

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam and Blake. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole, Gina, and Granny. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awsomedacious1 owns Lurker. A Little Help Here owns Spectre. Butters321 owns Echo. Golden-Gargoyle owns Cat.

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"Looks like you didn't find him either," Sam said, jumping over from a nearby rooftop.

"Nope. No luck," Hunter shrugged.

"Should we head back?"

"Echo is still out there. We'll have to find her, first."

"Yeah." The two of them sat for a while on the rooftop, not really sure of what to say.

"So," Hunter said after a moment. "What do you think's gonna happen?"

"With what?" Sam asked.

"Everything." Another pause.

"Well, I don't know," Sam replied after a while. "I mean, first thing's first, we've gotta get Cole out of here."

"Who knows how long that will take? We probably won't have any city left to live in by then."

"You think so?" Sam looked out over the stretch of buildings in front of them. "I sure hope not. I want things to be how they were before that Cole guy came."

"Yeah, me too," Hunter stood up. "Enough break time. Let's go find Echo and get back to where everyone else is." Hunter jumped down from the roof without waiting for a response, and then Sam stood up as well.

"We'll just have to see how it turns out," Sam muttered to himself before jumping down as well.

…...

Everyone else back at base was busy. They were either training with Spectre and Alan, or they were resting up for future confrontations.

"You feeling better?" Calli asked Taunter as she sprayed the sparse remnants out of a paint can and onto a nearby wall, making a small blue circle.

"Yeah, I think so," Taunter nodded, nibbling on a small piece of meat. "I just needed to vent at someone, I guess. Either way, I feel better now. And I'm sure that they'll find Tai, so there's no need to worry, right?"

"Right," Calli smiled and nodded. Valery and Noir sat nearby, though it was unapparent whether either of them was listening or not.

"You can't let your opponent out of your sight," Alan was calling out to the trainees in the background. "Always be aware of where they are, and try to read their movements." Taunter turned to look over at everyone training. Who was training over there, anyway…? Smoker, Cat, Eric, and a few others, with a few spectators among the sides.

"Maybe I should train, too…" Taunter said to herself.

"Hunter could always give you a lesson later," Valery shrugged.

"Yeah, that's true."

"So…what is it with you and this guy, Riley?" Noir asked, turning around.

"Huh? Nothing! I mean, he's…uh…" Taunter struggled for words.

"Riley?" Calli asked, and Taunter mentally thanked her for saving her from having to explain, even if Calli had had no idea of this "saving."

"It's her name," Noir shrugged. "Last time I checked, anyway."

"Really?" Valery and Calli asked almost at exactly the same time.

"You remembered it?" Valery continued the questions. "When?"

"In the hospital," Taunter told her. "I mean, I guess it just sort of slipped my mind to tell you guys. Sorry."

"But then how does Noir know it?" Calli said, confused.

"I met her before the infection," Noir replied simply.

"You did?" all three girls asked in unison.

"Uhhh…I don't remember _that_," Taunter said, trying to think back. "Hm…"

"You had just run away from home or something," Noir told her. "I found you in a park eating a loaf of bread. Actually, you're the one that told me not to really trust anyone."

"I did?" Taunter asked, even more surprised. "Oh, geez…sorry about that…uh…why did I say that?"

"Beats me," Noir shrugged again. "Maybe you were just angry about something."

"Huh…" Taunter thought hard, trying her best to remember. "…Sorry, still can't remember."

"It's fine," Noir answered. "I don't really get why I remember everything, but I know that you guys don't remember much."

"I'll remember sometime," Taunter smiled.

"Man, I wish that I could remember that much stuff," Valery sighed. "All I know is my name and a few little bits and pieces. What about you, Calli?"

"Who, me?" Calli asked, a bit taken off guard. "Well, I've had a few dreams about it…nothing big…"

"I bet you'll remember more, soon, though!"

"Maybe."

"Well, for now, let's just relax. We don't have to think about that yet," Taunter said. "I mean, we don't have anyone attacking us right now. We really just need to rest, and not worry about anything.

"Works for me," Valery smiled. "Let's do that."

…...

Tai and Echo slowly walked over to the slumped figure in the middle of the cleared area. The sickening smell of burning…everything, burning…was reaching their noses, making it a bit difficult to simply walk out there.

"What the heck happened here…?" Echo asked, glancing around.

"Clawer and Cole were fighting," Tai told her. "And so this…" The two of them approached even further.

"Is he…dead?" Echo said quietly.

"…Clawer?" Tai said, cautiously nudging the dark clad Infected with his foot. "You okay?" No response. Tai glanced around, making sure that Cole wasn't anywhere nearby. All that could be seen around them was smoke and debris.

"Clawer, get up," Echo squatted, shaking Clawer's shoulder lightly. Still no response of any kind.

"Uh…how do we check if he's…you know, okay?" Tai asked, getting on his knees to get a better look.

"I don't…I don't remember," Echo shook her head a bit.

"I don't think he's knocked out," Tai bit his lip. "This isn't good. He's not waking up." Echo tentatively reached down and touched Clawer's hand.

"He's still warm," she told Tai, standing up a again.

"Well then, that means that he…you know…not all that long ago."

"Hm…Maybe we could find something to help, right? Like…a med kit?"

"A med kit's not going to work on something like this. What else is there…?" Both of them thought about it. All they knew about were med kits. But there must be something! The survivors used them, they had seen the survivors use them before!

"Those…zappy things," Echo said finally. "We need one of those."

"Yeah," Tai nodded. "I've got no clue what it's called, but we need one." The two of them stood up, knowing that they had to find one…fast. They split up, going to opposite sides of the area, each of them beginning to dig through a pile of junk that had accumulated there.

Tai picked up forgotten flyers, small cardboard boxes, and all manner of things, but he couldn't find anything. Echo had much the same result, the only thing close to anything electric that she found being a dented toaster oven.

"Where did the survivors get those things, anyway?" Tai called over to her.

"I think that they got them from those red boxes on the walls inside buildings," she replied. "Should we look inside?"

"But…we can't just leave him out here…right?"

"I'll go look inside," Echo said, heading into the nearest door to a building while Tai remained outside. She glanced around the dark room, the only light coming from the filthy windows and the doorway. That was when she saw it. The red box on the wall. She jogged over and opened it. Empty, save for a few bottles of…something. She left the building, then went to another. Yet another empty red box. She went to another, and another, still coming up with nothing. Chances to help Clawer were looking slim now, had they ever been existent at all. Echo went into the last building there in the area. She didn't even see a box on the wall in that room. But just as she was about to leave, a small flash of red caught her eye. She turned, pushed past a Common who was gnawing on something or other and had ended up in there, and lifted a wooden beam up off the floor. Under it was the red box. At first, when she grabbed the cold, metal handle, it wouldn't budge. She heaved with all her strength, nearly falling backwards, but managed to get it open. And there, sitting in the slightly crushed box, was just what they were looking for. She picked it up very carefully, a bit suspicious of things that the survivors would use. Bringing it back outside, she held it up for Tai to see.

"Great!" Tai said, his face lighting up a bit. "So…do we use it like the survivors do?"

"I guess so," Echo said answered. "Do you want to try?"

"Sure," Tai took the machine. "Okay, so…switch it on, here…" The machine whirred quietly as it was turned on. It was a miracle that it was even working. "Then, take these two…things," Tai took a paddle in each hand. "And…rub them together!" He put the two paddles against each other, rubbing them together vigorously, just as he had seen the survivors do so many times. Echo pushed Clawer so that he was lying on his back, his tousled black hair actually falling out of his face for once. His eyes were open, but certainly not glowing anymore.

"Well, let's hope this works," Tai said as he prepared to administer the first shock. "Here goes nothing!"

…...

In short, Cole was very happy with himself. He had single-handedly taken out Clawer. That wasn't something that you get to do every day, of course. The others back at the parking lot could see that he was in a good mood by how he sauntered past them all, heading up towards the roof.

"What's got him so happy?" Ivy wondered aloud once he was gone.

"Beats me," Shawn shrugged, feeding Bongo from his hand. Hammer and Mauler remained silent, each absorbed into their own thoughts. Cole took his own good time walking through the old parking lot, up and up and up, higher and higher, until he got up to the roof. Clawer had been the one he had wanted to take out the most. But now, he still had to take care of Healer and that Sniffer kid. After that, he could focus a bit better on taking over the actual town. He knew that as long as he could take out the main fighters of the other team, then everything would go according to plan.

"You seem happy," came a voice from behind him. Cole turned his head a bit to see that it was Gina.

"Well, I think I should be happy," Cole said, a hint of a smile on his face as he looked over at Gina. "I just took down Clawer, and hardly got a scratch."

"Hardly a scratch, huh?" Gina said, noticing a rip in his jacket's arm, damp with blood.

"Nothing big," Cole shrugged. "Now it'll be a piece of cake to get rid of Healer."

"Yeah," Gina agreed, nodding. "And as for the rest, we can just pick off the weaklings first."

"Yeah…" Cole paused. "Gina, you and Ivy go and try to get of some of them. That sure as hell worked last time, so it'll work again."

"Sounds good," Gina turned to leave. "Just don't get too eager only because you killed Clawer."

"I know, I know," Cole said in a voice that everyone uses at one point in their life; it was the voice that shows that the speaker, in reality, wasn't listening at all.

…...

"There, that's the last of it," Boomer said, placing the last package of their meager supplies into the storage room that he and Jeffry had found. "It should be safe here."

"Mm-hm," Jeffry nodded. He was about to say something else when suddenly, they heard a noise. It was like a chirping, whirring noise. And when the two of them looked up, they saw it. A helicopter.

"Did the survivors come back?" Jeffry asked in surprise.

"No, that helicopter is a different color…" Boomer stared at the helicopter as it flew over them. There was writing on the side, but he couldn't read the bold "CEDA" that marked the side plating. The helicopter came to a landing on one of the roofs a few streets over. "They're…landing here."

"Yeah," Jeffry said. "Why do you think they're here…?"

"I don't know…" Boomer said, frowning worriedly. "But I've got a bad feeling about this. Let's go tell everyone else." Jeffry nodded without another word, and the two of them quickly headed off back down the alleyway. As if they didn't already have enough problems with Cole. Things were about to get a whole lot more complicated.

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Dun dun dun DUUUUN! CEDA? What are they doing there? I thought that they wimped out and ran away. XP You'll just need to wait til the next chapter to find out! :D Aaaand omg, Clawer! What will happen to him? Will he come back to life? What will he be thinking if he does? And is Tai even certified enough to use a defib? Answer to that last question: No! :P Buuuut anyway. XD Wow, including everyone's characters is hard. D: If I don't directly mention them, just assume that they're bunched up in the group descriptions. ^^; That huuuge file I had that documented all the characters and their bios is on the flash drive that had an emotional breakdown on me, so I gotta see if I can salvage that, too. ^^; Either way, I feel like this chapter feels kinda half-assed, so I'll write better in the future, I promise! XC

Now, question time!

For the good guys: Now, since everyone is training and such, what are you going to be doing to train when you aren't being specifically instructed by someone?

For the bad guys: Why do you think that Cole is so happy? And do you think that there will be any other big battles soon?

For everyone (readers): Why do you think that CEDA popped up outta nowhere? o3o

Also, another note: The romance-ness will be starting soon, I promise~! XD


	21. Threats on the Horizon

Lol hi guys! :P What's up? See, I got a chapter up quicker this time! At least, that's what I thought when I finished writing this, put then it took me forever to post. D: Oh well, at least I got it up. ^^ And it's even a little tiny bit longer than usual! :D …I think. XD Wait, no it's not. D: Well, anyway, once again, I don't have much to say about this chapter. Lol it's the middle of the night and I just want to go to bed. XD

I have a notice for you guys! :3 Now, in this chapter and the next one, some new OCs are going to be showing up. Don't freak out about it! XD These OCs were accepted waaaay back when I was still accepting them. Don't think that I've started accepting new characters again, 'cause I haven't. XD And you'll notice that they come from people who were on our super disclaimer already. :3 Soooo…yeah. XD

Note: OMG! I actually did some proofreading on this! Yaaaaay! XD

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in Left 4 Dead 2 in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, the personalities that I have given to the already existing special infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam and Blake. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire and Markus. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole, Gina, and Granny. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel and Kaylee. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awsomedacious1 owns Lurker. A Little Help Here owns Spectre. Butters321 owns Echo. Golden-Gargoyle owns Cat.

Super disclaimer has become even MORE super! Bow down to super disclaimer! o3o …if you feel like it. XD

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"Now, what the hell is this…?" Sam said quietly, looking out from the edge of a rooftop. Hunter, a few roofs ahead of him, stopped.

"What are you staring at?" he called. "We've gotta go find Echo and Tai."

"Look over there," Sam replied, pointing out towards another roof a long distance away. Hunter looked in the direction Sam had indicated, and that was when he saw it. The helicopter.

"Survivors…" Hunter said in confusion. "But…they haven't been around here for weeks now!"

"It's not the same ones, either," Sam added. "You know, those three guys and the girl we gave the baby to? It's not them."

"Yeah…" Hunter said as he watched several people in heavy looking full body suits pulling a huge metal crate out of the helicopter that they had just exited. "What's that thing supposed to be?"

"Beats me," Sam paused his talking for a moment to leap over to where Hunter was. "But that box is probably nothing but bad news."

"Great. That's just what we need." The two Hunters were about to leave when suddenly, they saw the metal box pitch a little bit, the suit-clad men having to hold it down. "Well…that can't be good."

"We really need to go find Echo and Tai," Sam said, sounding concerned and not waiting for a response before he jumped down into the alleyway below. Hunter took one last look at the new arrivals and their mysterious box, then jumped down after Sam. Something big was about to happen…

…...

He coughed once. Then once again. He felt flaky and dry, and most of all _extremely_ sore. His vision was blurry, and he couldn't make out the two faces looking down at him.

"He's waking up!" came a voice, sounding as if it came from a whole mile away. "He's really waking up!"

"We did it! Yes!" there was another voice, this one sounding equally as distant. He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was an exhausted groan. He blinked a few times, finally able to bring into focus the two above him. Echo and Tai.

"Get out…" Clawer rasped, lifting up a charred hand to shove Tai away, but found himself unable to summon up the strength. "Get out of…my face!"

"Clawer, he just saved your life!" Echo said, suddenly looking annoyed. "You should be thanking him!"

"I don't…know what you're talking about," Clawer coughed again. "I was just beating the crap out of Cole. I didn't need saving."

"Yeah, right! Come on, Cole beat you, and you were _dead! _D-E-A-D, dead! Tai used that thing to bring you back to life!" Echo said this in hopes that Clawer would understand exactly what Tai had just done. Clawer glanced over at Tai, who had backed up a bit. Presumably to get out of Clawer's face, like Clawer had said to do. And Clawer realized that Tai was indeed holding a defib unit. Had Tai really…?

"You're kidding, right?" Clawer asked, unable to believe the fact that one of the ones he had considered an enemy had saved his life.

"Why would I be kidding about something like this?" Echo frowned, now looking a bit sad. "You were really dead. It's a good thing that we got back here before it was too late."

"Yeah, but I hardly did anything," Tai shrugged meekly. "You found this thing, Echo. I just used it on him. If you hadn't found it…"

"Well…we both helped," Echo nodded. "Anyway, we should really get Healer over here…"

"Oh, right!" Tai exclaimed, having completely forgotten that they in fact had someone who could perfectly heal Clawer on their team. "Uh…so, which way is back to the base now? Have you guys moved at all?"

"It's fine, I'll get her," Echo said, standing up. "You stay here with Clawer, and we'll get back here as fast as we can."

"Okay," Tai agreed, and Echo ran off down an alleyway. The two remaining Infected were quiet for a moment, and the only sounds that could be heard were the gibberish-babbling Commons and an odd whirring noise…What was that whirring?

"So," Clawer said, distracting Tai from his attempted investigation of the strange whirring sound. "You. You really saved me?"

"Well…yeah," Tai said after a moment. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because you work for Cole," Clawer replied, attempting very slowly and carefully to get himself into a more comfortable position, wincing from the pain emanating from the burns he had received in his scuffle with Cole.

"I don't work for Cole," Tai sighed, fairly sure that he was never going to convince Clawer anyway. "I've told you that a lot now. But you're not going to believe me anyway, so I guess there's no point in telling you that anymore." There was another long silence.

"So then," Clawer continued, still trying to adjust his position so that he would somehow not be lying on top of one of his burns. "Why would one of Cole's lackeys save my life?"

"Forget it," Tai turned away, feeling one of his rare bouts of being fed up. "If you're just gonna call me Cole's lackey all the time, I'm not gonna talk to you. And I don't see why I would have saved your life if I was working for Cole anyway." Tai fell silent, not wanting to look at Clawer. Why wouldn't this guy just believe what he said? Yet another long, drawn out silence hung in between them.

"You're…saying that you're serious?" Clawer asked after a while.

"Yeah, I am!" Tai turned back to face Clawer quickly. "Me and Eric really are on your side! Both of us hate Cole! I just don't see why you won't listen to me!"

"It's because they've told us that before," Clawer said, his voice suddenly quieter. "You probably know about it already."

"Know about what?" Tai asked, any signs of annoyance or anger completely leaving his voice.

"So, they kept you out of the loop?"

"What loop?" Tai persisted with his questions. Clawer sighed, then spoke.

"Back when I was with my old group, a few new Infected joined us. We thought we could trust them. They were our friends, right?" Tai nodded slowly as he listened. "Wrong." He flinched a bit as Clawer said the single word, sounding harsh and cold. "Those guys turned on us. They had been working for Cole the whole time. They're one of the reasons that all of my friends except Healer died. All because we were betrayed. So, now do you see why I didn't feel like trusting you guys? I didn't want a repeat. Get it?" Tai nodded again, this time more quickly. He hadn't known about that part of Cole's plan back at the factory at all. So then…who were the traitors that Clawer was talking about?

"Well then, do you think I should trust you because you saved me?" Clawer asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Tai said in surprise. "You're asking me?"

"Yeah. I am. So, what do you think? Should I trust you?"

"Well, I think so," Tai answered. "I sure like your team a whole heck of a lot better than my old team. Plus, Riley is on your team."

"Riley?"

"My sister."

"Oh, right…Taunter." The two of them were quiet for a moment.

"Well, alright then," Clawer finally spoke once again. "I guess I'll just have to trust you, then."

"…Really?" Tai asked, his response a bit slow due to surprise.

"Yeah. But listen," Clawer turned to look at Tai right in the eyes. "If you ever betray us, I'll be sure to see you dead before the day's over. Got it?"

"Got it," Tai nodded, not wanting to think about how that scenario would turn out. "Trust me, I won't betray you. I want to get rid of Cole as much as you do."

"We'll just have to see, I guess," Clawer said. And as if on cue, Echo and Healer came running into the area.

"That was fast," Tai said, astonished at how quickly the two girls had made it there.

"Like I said, we came back as fast as we could," Echo gave a bit of a smile. "Everything's gonna be fine now."

"Oh, Clawer, what happened?" Healer asked, kneeling down next to him, worry lacing her voice.

"I got in a fight with Cole," Clawer told her.

"Well…that's a bit obvious," she began what appeared to be her healing process, and Tai and Echo walked away to leave them alone for a while.

"Clawer," Healer whispered. "I need to tell you something."

"What?" he said quietly, sensing the worry in her voice. "What happened?"

"When I was following Echo here, I saw a helicopter. With a bunch of survivors in it. And they had a big metal box with them."

"Survivors? Now? Great."

"But it's not just that, Clawer. These survivors…we've seen them before."

"Seen them before…?"

"Yeah. It's those guys, Clawer. The ones in the white coats. And the full body suits. It's _them._" A small spark of recognition flashed in Clawer's mind, his fading pre-infection memories fighting to surface into his thoughts.

"Those guys…" Clawer repeated what she had said, trying hard to remember, but found himself unable to make the memory fully surface. All he could remember was one thing: Those men were bad news. End of story.

…...

Everyone was exhausted from training. Even Spectre seemed a bit tired, having had to shout directions to everyone all day.

"Take a break, everyone!" he called before sitting down onto a crate to rest.

"Phew. Man, I'm beat," Smoker said, sitting down on the ground and reaching into his pocket for a cig. He pulled one out and stared at it for a moment but then put it away, deciding that nobody was going to like even _more_ smoke floating around, especially when they were all so worn out. Just as everyone was getting ready to settle down, Boomer and Jeffry entered the area, grim looks on their faces.

"What's wrong?" Angel asked, seeing their troubled expressions.

"Did something happen?" Cat inquired, joining in on the questioning.

"We've got trouble," Boomer replied. "A helicopter landed in the town, and there were survivors on it. We have no idea what they're doing here. It can't be a good thing."

"That _does_ sound bad," Alan muttered. "Do they look dangerous?"

"We couldn't tell from down on the ground. They were up on a roof," Boomer explained to him.

"Well, what are we going to do about it?" Valery asked, frowning. "We've already got Cole to worry about. What do we do about the survivors from the helicopter?" A long silence ensued. Nobody knew what they would do. Survivors on one side of them, Cole on the other. There was nowhere to go. Nowhere to run. And nothing they could do about the events that were about to unfold.

…...

"We're almost there," Mike said, leading the trio behind him down the road.

"Sounds like you guys have it pretty bad back there," Claire said, frowning. "You should have come got me sooner."

"Well, at least we're going now, right? We can still help them out," the Smoker walking next to her said.

"Yeah, that's true…you're right, Markus. Oh, and don't trip in that pothole, Kaylee!"

"Huh? Oh, thanks!" the other Smoker, this one a woman, said. "I would've fallen flat on my face, huh…?" Mike began to phase out the conversation behind him. He only focused on the city approaching them on the horizon. What had happened while he had been gone getting help? Had they beaten Cole? Or had they all…? Mike shook his head, ridding his mind of the thought that his friends might have been killed. He told himself that he couldn't think of that. Because when you begin to lose hope, you know that everything will be lost with it eventually.

…...

The men, still wearing their full body suits to protect against infection, surveyed their work on the roof. The devices still in the helicopter whirred and blinked.

"Is it ready?" one of them asked, his voice muffled due to his suit.

"It would seem to be so," a second one replied. He lifted the top off of the metal crate that they had heaved out of the helicopter, allowing a single moment to pass, then absent mindedly tossing the lid behind him, not caring where it landed. "Project Fusion will begin…now."

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I wrote this all in one sitting. BOOYA.

Lol anyway. XD Sooo, bad guys, first off! You guys haven't gotten much screen time lately. D: You'll get more soon, I promise! XC Just wait until you see my next plot twist~ :3

And also~ Question time!

For the good guys: Sooo…you guys are in a tight spot, huh? XD You've got Cole _and_ CEDA to worry about. What will you do? D:

For the bad guys: Have you guys noticed that CEDA is around yet? If so, what do you plan to do about it?

And another note: Th-The romance is coming I promise! D: Patience is a virtue, after all! :D …that's no excuse, I'm sorry. XD


	22. Coming Back Together

EGAD. AN UPDATE? NO WAY, MAN. Duuuudes, I am sooooo sorry that this took me so long! D: I just totally lost my muse for a while. DX But now, it's back! :3 So, I'm definitely going to try to post more, I promise! :D After one LONG hiatus, I am BACK! XD Well, here we gooooo!

Note: I didn't proofread this because I just wanted to be able to post it for you guys as fast as possible! Please ignore any typos! D:

And now, SUPER DISCLAIMER STRIKES BACK.

Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 or the characters in the Left 4 Dead game series in any way, shape, or form! I only own Taunter, Noir, Tai, Fusion, the personalities that I've given the already existing Special Infected, and the plot of the story. Commander of the Rabbids owns Sam and Blake. Sorrowsnow owns Calli. Zipper Whippersnapper owns Jeffry. Foxstar-Nukiu owns Valery. Coheed17 owns Claire and Markus. Breaking Ground owns Mike. Scorpion 123456 owns Clawer and Healer. TwilightSymphony owns Cole, Gina, and Granny. MirrorDemonNema owns Angel and Kaylee. Uros Osium Tokker owns Alan. Kynmarcher17 owns Hammer. Dance in the Moonlight owns Ivy. ZombieFreak owns Mauler. KrystalDot owns Jojo. Dodgerjoey owns Eric. Tyrant Wolf owns Shawn. Awesomedacious1 owns Lurker. A Little Help Here owns Spectre. Butters321 owns Echo. Golden-Gargoyle owns Cat.

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The days hadn't been sunny for quite a while. Gray skies continued to overshadow the once so happy city. The Commons continued on their daily routine of wandering, nothing going through their mutated minds, as the Special Infected who now camped out in the city continued to lie in wait of the next time that they would meet their enemies, or receive new allies-anything to break the stalemate. They were hoping for something good-but anything at all to break the perpetual silence that hung over them would be enough.

"So, any ideas?" Smoker asked. It hadn't been long since they had gone through their most recent planning session, which had come after physical training. They had come up with absolutely nothing. He waited for a moment, not getting an answer. "Nothing at all?"

"I think that we're going to need to put the survivors who showed up into our plan, too," Blake finally spoke up, breaking the silence. "I know that Cole's dangerous and all, but whoever those survivors are, they're probably even more dangerous…"

"Hey…" Spectre spoke, then paused for a moment, turning to Boomer. "What did you say that those survivors looked like again?"

"From what I could see, they were all wearing full body suits or something," Boomer explained. "The suits were basically all white. But like I said before, they were on a roof, so I couldn't get a very good look…"

"Hm…" Spectre seemed lost in his own thoughts. "So it's them, huh…?"

"Them?" Cat asked inquisitively.

"Nothing," he waved off her question, falling silent again.

"But Calli is right, I think we need some kind of new plan," Taunter nodded. "We need to brainstorm and come up with some new ideas."

"Well…there are probably two main options for us at this point," Alan spoke in a quiet tone. He hesitated as everyone looked to him, then continued, his voice still a bit hushed. "We could stay together as one big group, or we could split up."

"But wouldn't splitting up make it easier for them to attack us?" Valery asked with a frown.

"Valery is right…" Angel sighed. "I feel like we should do whatever is safest for everybody."

"But it also makes it so that they couldn't take us all down at once with one big blast or anything like that," Smoker remarked. "But like you said, there are risks and everything. We're going to have to just pick one and deal with it."

"What happens if we run into Cole if we end up splitting up? Or those survivors?" Calli asked tentatively.

"We'd probably have to run, right?" Taunter frowned, then seemed to be thinking for a moment, and a hint of a smile crossed her face. "Hey, maybe those survivors will scare Cole and his goons away!"

_Doubtful,_ Noir thought, not having said anything thus far, sitting at the edge of the group, fidgeting with his hat in his hands. _He'd sooner burn them to a crisp than even turn away from them, let alone run._ Still, a few of the others were now talking about how maybe they could use the survivors to scare Cole away. He didn't want to be the one to spoil that, even if he didn't particularly know why.

Either way, whatever they did, Noir knew that Cole would find some way around it. He always did, after all. There were plenty of burned out cities to prove that statement. But still…

There was something deep inside of him that was hoping that this city would go on without becoming little more than a scorched shell.

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"Feeling better now?" Healer asked gently as she helped Clawer sit up.

"Yeah…" he sighed. "Thanks."

"Is everything okay now?" Echo called from where she and Tai were sitting, a bit of a ways away. "Time to go back?"

"I think so," Healer called back to her, then turned her gaze back to Clawer. "Are you ready to walk yet?" Clawer nodded, pulling himself to his feet and stretching. Healer smiled, then waved at Echo and Tai to come over. The two of them stood from the boxes that they had been sitting on while waiting, then jogged over to the other two.

"Alright, so, let's head back and meet up with everyone else," Echo nodded. But before they could take a single step, they heard a voice.

"Hey!" it called down to them from the rooftop. For a moment then all whipped around to look up at the source of the voice, almost expecting an enemy, but then recognition set in.

"Glad we finally found you guys," Sam smiled as he and Hunter jumped down from the roof to join the group on the ground.

"There's a helicopter full of survivors flying around," Hunter added, seeming a bit less enthusiastic than his companion. "And they had this weird metal box-it had something in it. It's probably not a good thing. So, I say that we all get back to where everyone else is. Now." They were all in agreement on that one. Just having Cole to worry about was enough-the threat of dangerous survivors _and_ Cole running around was a bit too much of a threat for them to be so far away from the main group. So, they started on their way back without delay. Clawer led the way, weaving his way through the alleys that he had come to know so well.

Then, as they reached the street, abruptly stopped.

"Hold on," he said, his voice sounding a bit harsh.

"What is it?" Sam asked, seeming surprised.

"Yeah, what could be so bad?" Hunter pushed his way to the front of the group to look out onto the street as well. "It's just-whoa. What the hell…?" And with that, all of them just had to see. The others made their way to the opening of the alley, looking out upon what had stopped both Clawer and Hunter in their tracks.

The street was flooded with blood. The crimson liquid was practically running like a river through the gutters. The bodies of Commons were strewn everywhere, lying in odd positions like rag dolls thrown away by a child who suddenly became bored of the game they had been playing.

"No way…" Echo whispered in shock. Healer covered her mouth, traces of tears forming in her eyes.

"So many of them…so many lives…" she said in a slightly trembling voice.

"Who…Who did this…?" Tai said in a strained voice.

"Hell if I know," Hunter muttered.

"Probably not Cole," Sam said after a moment. "I don't see…well, I don't see any burn marks or anything…but it's kind of hard to tell…"

"Let's just get back. Now," Clawer paused for a moment to look around for enemies, then ran out into the street. The others hastily followed behind him, making sure to keep their guards up.

Before he made his way into the next alleyway, Tai stopped for a moment to look back at the bodies lying on the street. As his eyes scanned down the road, he saw something. Or rather, someone. Judging by the skin tone, an infected, with overly long, pale hair, and a bit of a hunched over posture. Their tattered white clothes were splattered with blood, so Tai was happy that they were standing a long ways down the road, whoever they were. He quickly ducked into the alleyway before he could be seen, then found himself face to face with Echo.

"What's wrong?" she asked, looking worried.

"I saw somebody down the road…" he started to explain.

"Hey, guys, come on," Sam called to them, interrupting Tai unintentionally. "We've gotta stick together."

"I'll tell you once we get back," Tai turned back to Echo and smiled at her gently.

"Sound good," she said, nodding and returning the smile as the two of them jogged to keep up with the others as they continued back to find their friends.

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"So are we going to make another move soon…?" Gina asked, seeming almost bored, as she stood on the rooftop level of the parking garage, glancing over at Cole. Sitting on the edge of the roof, he didn't even look at her.

"Of course we are," he answered. "I'm not just going to sit here and wait for them to do something, they never will. We can make an attack plan later today." He was about to speak again when he heard something. A faint whirring noise. And it was getting louder every second. "…Okay, what the hell is that?"

It didn't take long for his question to be answered. The whirring continued to grow in intensity, until finally, the helicopter came into view and fly just above their heads, over the building and towards the city limit.

"Survivors…?" Gina watched the helicopter go, her long hair whipping around in the wind that it had created. Cole swung his legs back over the edge, planting his feet on the roof once again and standing up.

"But they're leaving," he said. "Either they just decided to fly over us for no reason, or they left us a gift. I'm betting on the second one."

"And by gift, you mean something that's going to screw us up, right?"

"It might be meant to screw _us_ up, but hey, we could use this to our advantage." He smiled to himself, as he paused for a moment. "Go downstairs and tell everyone that we're holding a meeting. Now."

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Aaaand that's it for this chapter! What will be the outcome of this? Who will be able to use whatever the survivors left to their advantage, if anyone? And who the heck is that dude who beat up all of those poor Commons? ;A; FIND ALL OF THIS AND MORE OUT NEXT UPDATE~ YAYYYY~ XD

Just so you guys know, Mike, Claire, Markus, and Kaylee arrived at the city during this chapter, they just haven't found everyone else yet. :3

Good Guys: Does your character think that the group should split up, or stay together. We're taking a vote on this, and some minor details of the plot will change depending on what you choose!

Bad Guys: Yay! You're finally making battle plans! Show me your best "Lemme at 'em!" face! :D

I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter, guys! You can probably expect it this upcoming weekend! :3 Get excited! XD


	23. (Author's Notes--An Update)

Hello there everyone. It's been a long time, I know. A very, very long time. I'm sorry that I haven't updated the story. But this message here is to the people who have been reading the story. And it has to do with some…more recent developments.

Let me start at the beginning.

First—the reason I haven't updated in a while. There are several reasons. One, I lost all of the character bios, including my own, because my old computer died, taking hundreds of precious files with it. Two, I've been busy with college and a job. Three, I was having trouble managing all of the OCs, and ended up being a coward and not working on it because I was scared that the quality would drop. I slowly began to lose interest as I drifted away from it.

HOWEVER.

I feel as if I have let many people down. I may even consider trying to re-write the story. I write much better now than I did in the past, and if I found proper inspiration, I wouldn't be all that against re-doing it, and making it much better.

I have one very important thing to say though.

That I am hurt and insulted by recent events.

I haven't been replying to messages here on fanfiction because my old e-mail broke down—I can't access it anymore. But that's not the issue.

I received a comment on this very story saying that I was too focused on the "trash" I have on deviant-art.

Well then. If you think that my writing is such "trash", then why are you even reading THIS story, hm? I am GREATLY offended that somebody would say that. As someone who hopes to become a writer in the future, I hate it that people would say that they like my writing, then suddenly say that it's "trash" just because it's on a different site and about different characters. Getting comments like this makes me not want to continue the story at all—because I am severely insulted. I don't see why I should cater to people who insult me. However…I haven't received many other comments like that…I did however get a note on deviant-art about it as well…and my suspicion is that it's the same person. To that person—if you're going to ask me to continue the story, it would probably be beneficial to do it in a way that doesn't make me upset. You hurt my feelings, and it really doesn't make me feel like continuing—even though I had thought about it when you sent me that message. To whoever wrote the "trash" comment—I don't know if it was you, deviant-art noter—just don't. If you think my writing is trash, then you have no right to be reading anything of mine at all, nor would it seem like you would have any desire for me to continue this story if you do believe that I write such "trash."

At this point, I won't be continuing the story. That's the truth. If anything, I MAY re-write it. May. I have become severely discouraged with this recent chain of events. If I do re-write it, I would like it to have less characters. That would make it a lot easier on me, and put my mind to ease. Because of that, I may have to take out a few…so I want to see who still actively follows the story. And no, I can't add any new ones. Sadly, people still kept asking me to put their characters in after I had set the limit. It's difficult enough to write with so many characters in the story already.

Either way…what with how old it is compared to my current style of writing, the story embarrasses me, if anything. It's very old and outdated and I could greatly improve on it. If I get enough positive feedback, then yes, I will try to re-write it. But like I said…I can only keep in the most main of the characters.

I need to extend an apology for you readers that I was gone for so long. Highschool happened—and so did depression. That was part of my absence as well. I'm better now, but I'm busy with college and summer classes to help me with internships and the like. I know that I am at fault here—but I would like to avoid negative comments, thank you.

So…give me your feedback. Is the story worth re-writing? Like I said, I can't check my messages through e-mail…but I'll check back here in a few days to see how the feedback turned out. Please refrain from saying anything offensive in the comments, though—having my writing being called "trash" hurt me enough.

—Akikazemoon


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